


Forgotten

by FanficAllergy



Series: The Parts We Play [5]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, Hunters & Hunting, Male-Female Friendship, Sequel, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-26
Updated: 2015-05-14
Packaged: 2018-01-02 17:36:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1059647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanficAllergy/pseuds/FanficAllergy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life hasn't been kind to Gale Hawthorne, but when his best friend is taken by the Capitol he has to find a way to step up with the help of an unlikely ally. Side story to my fanfic, Spectator, taking place after the events in Chapter 16.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The Hunger Games Trilogy is property of Suzanne Collins. This is a parody fanwork by fans for fans. No money was made off of the creation of this fanwork.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madge informs Gale that the Capitol has taken Katniss. He reacts about as well as can be expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This is Gale's side story which takes place in the same universe and runs concurrently to my story "Spectator." You will likely want to read that fic first since I will be making reference to the events that take place in it. This chapter takes place after the some of the events in Chapter Seventeen.

**oOo**

**Chapter One**

There's a knock at my door and I wonder who it is, no one ever really comes to visit around this time. All of my mother's clients stop by in the morning before work to keep their clean clothes clean for long as possible here in the Seam. No point picking up clean clothes after a day in the mines, they'd just be as bad off as they were before my mother laundered them.

So it's not one of my mother's clients and I'm pretty sure it's not a Peacekeeper, I haven't gotten caught poaching or scavenging. That limits who it could be. I'd be lying to myself if I said that I didn't hope it was Catnip.

Katniss. She's Katniss now.

My little brother, Rory, gets the door and calls for me. My heart leaps and I walk to the door hoping that I'll see that familiar black braid and slender form.

I don't.

It's Madge Undersee, the Mayor's daughter. She's shifting nervously from foot to foot and glancing over her shoulder every so often. I wonder what's up and invite her inside and close the door behind her.

She eyes Rory nervously and I shoo him from the room. Not that we're going to get much in the way of privacy. It's a small house and the walls are paper thin. Such is life in the Seam and there isn't much I can do about it.

"What are you doing here, Undersee?" I ask, my tone isn't all that inviting. Her family is a good customer but she's Katniss's friend, not mine. I'll tolerate the merchant girl for Katniss's sake, not because I like her company.

"Peacekeepers came and took Katniss," she says in a low tone, almost a whisper.

"What!" I roar. "When?"

She makes little shushing motions with her hands. "Not so loud!" she hisses. "Somebody will hear!"

"Tell me everything," I grind out.

"Peacekeepers came and took Katniss and her mom to go to the Capitol for the family interviews." She pauses. "They took the Mellarks too."

I'm confused. That isn't what happens in the Games. The few times someone from District Twelve has made it into the final eight, they've sent a wide-eyed reporter with more makeup and tattoos than Effie Trinket. The reporter interviews as few people as possible and then goes back to the Capitol. The last time a District Twelve tribute made the top eight, four years ago, the Capitol reporters were here for less than an hour. So I cannot fathom why they'd change the way things are done now and I say so. "They've never done that before!" I splutter. "There's got to be some other reason for this."

Madge just looks at me, willing me to make the connections she obviously already has.

I think it through again. What about this year is different? First there's the competing love stories and now the rule change. Then it comes to me. Hostages. Katniss, Mrs. Everdeen, the Mellarks are all being taken to the Capitol as hostages and bargaining chips for their tributes' good behavior.

It makes me sick.

"What am I supposed to do?" I ask myself. I wish I could fly off to her rescue like the heroes my father used to tell me about when I was little.

Madge apparently thinks the question is directed at her. "Katniss asked me to take care of Prim's goat and cat."

"You?" I scoff. "You don't know a thing about taking care of animals. Why would she ask you and not me?"

The Mayor's daughter rolls her eyes and reaches up to smack me on the back of the head. "Use your head, Gale! She didn't want to get your family involved in case something goes wrong. I'm as safe as anyone can be in District Twelve because of who my father is. She was looking out for you, you dumb oaf!"

"Hey! I'm not dumb!" I'm actually more surprised that she's standing up to me. I'm twice her size. "So Katniss wants me to look out for her place and Prim's animals? Fine. I'll have Rory and Vick help me. Is that all?" I'm not comfortable having her in my house.

"No," she answers.

"Then what?" I ask, running a hand through my hair.

"I want your help." She gives me a determined look. "Katniss is gone, right?"

I cross my arms. "So you've just told me."

"Don't be snide," she snaps. "That means she's not going to be able to stock up for the winter like she planned. And with her mother gone too, they don't have an income coming in. Not to mention what will happen if Prim dies."

She doesn't have to mention what will happen. I remember when I first met Katniss after our fathers died in that mine explosion. She was little more than skin and bones topped by a messy braid. She's filled out a lot more since those lean days, but she's not more than a few steps from starvation. None of us in the Seam are very far from that hell.

If Prim dies, everything Katniss has fought and struggled for will be lost and she'd likely join her mother in a depressive spiral. She won't have the energy or will to hunt and without her hunting and gathering, she and my baby she's carrying will die.

"So what do you have in mind?" I ask. It's clear that the merchant girl has a plan or she wouldn't be pussyfooting around the subject.

"I want to help Katniss stock up," she says.

"What's that got to do with me?" I ask. "You weren't there, but she doesn't want my help. She's made that crystal clear."

She snorts. "That was before the Capitol knocked on her door. Get with the times, Gale. I don't think that she planned on being gone for the rest of the Games. I'm not asking you to do everything, just help me out a little. Show me what plants are okay to eat. Maybe even teach me how to set snares. That way, it's not you who's actually helping her out."

"She'll know I was involved. No offense, Undersee, but you don't know jack about surviving in the woods."

"I can learn," she says with a shrug. "Besides, I'll tell her it was my idea. That will get you off the hook."

I consider it. It's not a bad plan as far as plans go. Technically, I'd be helping Madge. What she does with what she manages to find or catch isn't up to me. "Fine, but you follow every order I give you to the letter. Got it, Undersee?"

"I've got it. Now, are you going to show me how to take care of Prim's goat or not? The cat, I think I can handle. We used to have a cat when I was little," she explains before I can ask.

"We've got it," I tell her. We don't need the help of a merchant kid. She'd just be in the way.

"Are you normally this thick, Gale, or has the stress of becoming a father addled your brains," she says, rolling her eyes again. "I told you the Peacekeepers took her. One was with her when she came to see me. The woman probably knows why Katniss visited me and that Peacekeeper is still here. Even if she doesn't report that to her superiors, which is doubtful, she still knows that Katniss asked me to take care of her goat. What do you think would happen if she goes to check up on the Everdeen house and finds you or your brothers there?"

I follow her train of thought to its logical and frightening conclusion. The Peacekeepers would think we were thieves. The punishment for theft is death. Even if we could convince the Peacekeepers we weren't stealing anything we'd still face flogging or worse just for 'breaking and entering.' Madge is right. She has to be there when we take care of the animals otherwise Rory, Vick, or me could end up dangling from the hangman's noose. "Fine, you've made your point. I suppose you'll want the milk too," I say snidely.

"Only if you don't have any plans for it," she answers, not batting an eyelash at my tone. "I was going to have my maid teach me how to make cheese from it so that I could either sell it for her or store it for later."

I'm immediately chastened and I remember all of the effort she went through to try to raise money for Prim's sponsor gift. I'm angry that she's having to lead me to conclusions I should have thought through. She's right, I'm not acting like I should be and haven't ever since the night Katniss and I made love. It's only gotten worse since I found out Katniss was pregnant. It's like a switch just got flicked in my head that I need to protect and provide for my family and Katniss and our unborn baby are a part of my family.

I'm angry that the Mayor's daughter is able to read and understand my best friend better than me. I should have realized from the moment that Madge told me that the Peacekeepers had come for Katniss that the rules had changed.

I'm not giving this slim, blond girl enough credit. She's not like the other merchant girls I know.

She's better.

**oOo**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:
> 
> Written: 7/15/13  
> Revised: 11/26/13  
> Beta Read by RoseFyre
> 
> Hi! If you are new to this story and really confused I suggest you go hit up my profile and check out my fic "Spectator." If you don't want to do that, here's a brief summary to date.
> 
> Katniss is pregnant with Gale's child and because of that the whole Hunger Games universe is changing. For instance, Prim took out tesserae to help feed her family, so her name was in the Reaping bowl four times. That change meant that it was Katniss who was Reaped initially and Prim who volunteered to take her pregnant sister's place. Also because of Katniss's pregnancy she's become closer to Madge and more distant to Gale. Basically they've fought and have irreconcilable differences of opinions about how things should go. You'll get more about that later. As in the Original Timeline, the rules changed to allow two tributes to come home from the same district. Not because of Katniss/Peeta although Peeta is still playing that angle to get Prim home, but because of Cato and Clove. Immediately after the announcement, Katniss and her mother, along with the Mellarks, were escorted to the Capitol. Ostensibly to give their interviews someplace nice. The reality is a lot more sinister.
> 
> There, you should be up to date.
> 
> Madge is also going to be portrayed a little differently here than in my main fic. Remember who the POV character is. And not everyone acts the same around each person. We all adapt to the person we are communicating with.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gale starts taking Madge into the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place after the some of the events in Chapter Seventeen of Spectator.

**oOo**

**Chapter Two**

The next morning I meet Madge at her house. It's early and the sun is barely up, but if I'm going to teach her how to the survive in the woods and set snares we need to get a move on.

She's awake, which surprises me, and ready and waiting for me, wearing what are obviously her grungiest clothes. They're still nicer than most of my clothing, and I feel a twinge of anger run through me at the class differences between us.

The merchant girl just regards me solemnly and shakes her head. "Let's go, Gale. You're just going to have to deal with me and my merchant self." There must be an expression on my face that's giving away my feelings for her to be able to tell what I'm thinking so easily. She starts off toward the Meadow and the fence beyond without me.

I chase after her and pull up alongside of the slim girl. "I'm sorry," I say.

She looks over at me and raises her eyebrows. "Do you mean that? Or are you just paying lip-service?"

"Lip-service?" I haven't heard the term before and I'm not sure I like it.

"Saying what you're supposed to say even though you don't mean it," she explains. "Because if you are, don't bother apologizing. It won't change anything."

So she wants to know if I'm telling the truth. I suppose I can't really blame her, considering our relationship to date. If it weren't for Katniss, we'd never actually interact other than when I come to her house to sell strawberries.

"I am sorry," I repeat. "It's just I don't have much use for merchants."

It's clear from the expression on her face that she's not impressed with my reason because she counters, "Unless you want their money. That's really all we are to you, someone to trade with."

She's right, that's really the only interaction I have with anyone from the merchant class. I shrug. "They're the ones who have money. Other than the Peacekeepers," I point out. "Who else would I trade with?"

That skeptical look deepens. "What about that place Katniss goes to?"

"You mean the Hob?"

She nods. "Yeah."

"That's more of a barter system. There isn't much coin to be made there," I explain. "And most of what's there is second or third hand and there are some things you really don't want to buy second or third hand."

"Ah, that makes sense," Madge says, her tone less hard. "You'll have to take me there some time. I'm sure there's going to be stuff we'll need to preserve all of the food we're going to get Katniss." All of the anger seems to drain out of her, and it surprises me. She's not like Katniss who if you rile her up stays riled for days, it's another thing I'm not used to.

"So sure are you that you're going to get enough that we're going to need supplies?"

She smiles at me. "Yep! You're going to teach me, aren't you?"

I take the words as the peace offering I know they are. "I'm not going to promise to be nice to you."

"I didn't ask you to be nice to me. And I wouldn't believe you if you were." She looks off in the distance. "I get enough of that as it is. I'd rather you were honest with your dislike than try to pretend to like me just because of who I am."

Understanding hits me, she doesn't have any real friends other than Katniss just people she hangs out with because she has to. "Right. Because of your dad." I give her a sympathetic look.

She nods. "Right." Madge changes the subject. "So what are we going to start with today?"

"We're going to set several snares and then from there set some nets in the stream."

"Is that hard?" she wants to know.

I shrug. "It depends on how fast you catch on. Fishing is easier, but fish isn't as filling and it doesn't keep as well. That's why I prefer snares."

We get to the fence and go through it. When we're on the other side she asks me, "That can't be all we're doing today. I mean, the fish and the game aren't going to just run into your traps as soon as you set them."

Her words spark a memory and I throw back my head and laugh. "Sometimes they do. When I was about fifteen, I'd just set a few snares and was heading off to meet Katniss at our place when I heard some horrible ruckus from where I'd set my second to last snare. It was a rabbit and I'd scared it right into my trap."

She laughs with me. "I stand corrected. Still, that can't be all you have planned."

"It isn't," I answer with a small quirk of my lips.

"So what else is on the menu, literally?"

I smile at her pun and shake my head. "You'll see. Come on. I'm going to teach you how to set a deadfall trap first."

We work on setting a variety of snares and traps for the first two hours of the morning and I teach her how to differentiate a rabbit trail from a deer trail. I don't think she can tell the difference yet, but she's got a good eye and is able to spot broken vegetation from an animal passing better than Rory can now or I could when I first started and it's only her second time outside the fence. She's got the makings of being a good tracker.

But where she is good with her eye, she is almost hopeless with her hands. I can see that Madge is having trouble with the wire and various knots I use but she doesn't complain. Even when the wire snaps back and jabs her in the leg for the fifth time. Finally, I give up and teach her the simplest snare I know, a basic slip knot set in the middle of a game trail. It's not as good as some of the other traps I set, since it doesn't always kill the animal. But it's easy.

She gives me a grateful smile and sets about ten of them around a small slow moving pool along the stream. When she's done, Madge stands up and brushes her hands off on her pants. "So now what?"

I check the sky and see that it's about mid-morning. Time to move on. "It's too late to do any fishing. How do you feel about picking berries?"

"Strawberries?" she asks, her eyes lighting up.

I shake my head. "The field's pretty picked clean. We should wait a few days for the berries to ripen. I was thinking about getting blackberries."

She nods and I lead her to the rocky overhang that used to be Katniss's and my old place. I feel a little twinge in my heart when we get there but I tell myself to get over it. I show Madge how to pick the berries correctly, with the centers still in them. She gets the hang of it quickly and I move down to a different set of brambles. I look up, expecting to catch her sneaking a few berries to find her looking at me with an unfathomable expression on her face.

"What?" I ask, unable to keep the defensive snarl out of my voice.

"This was your place, wasn't it?" she asks bluntly. "Yours and Katniss's."

"So?" I challenge, refusing to answer her question.

"It bothers you, having me here."

I snort. "Get over yourself, Undersee. You're not that important."

She shrugs. "I know. So do you think once we've picked the berries we should go back to Katniss's place and take care of that goat and cat of her sister's? I haven't been yet today and the goat probably needs to be fed and milked."

I nod. It's better than what I had planned, gathering greens. And it will give me an excuse to get away from the annoying merchant girl.

We both go back to picking until we've each filled our bag with berries. On a hunch, I check my traps to see if we've caught anything in the few hours we've been out.

Nothing.

Madge seems disappointed. "Maybe we should switch to fishing when we come out later. Katniss always seemed to be able to catch fish."

"I don't have any nets," I point out.

Madge rolls her eyes. "Katniss does. And she's not using them right now."

I'm not sure that's a good idea and I tell Madge so.

The girl just smiles at me. "Gale, do you really think Katniss will mind if we use them to help her stock up for the winter?"

When she says it like that, I feel kind of stupid. It's just so engrained in me that I'm the snare hunter that I don't want to change that. It's who I am. It's what I'm good at.

We head to Katniss's house and go inside, leaving the front door open. Madge puts the berries on the counter and roots around to find food for Buttercup. There's some leftovers from the night before and she picks the meat out to give to the cat.

"Do you want the rest of this?" she asks. "It isn't going to keep until Katniss gets back."

I nod and grab the milking bucket and go out to see to Lady. The goat greets me with a little bleat and I pet her head affectionately. She's a good goat and I check her food to make sure she has enough. It's a little low but enough to get her through the night. I vow to have Vick and Rory take her out to the Meadow with them tomorrow when they go there to pick greens for our family to eat.

When I go back inside, I see a female Peacekeeper in the doorway talking with Madge. The girl seems comfortable and certain and I clear my throat to get their attention. "Is there anything wrong?" I ask.

Madge shakes her head. "No, I was just telling Peacekeeper Gneiss here that I had hired some help to make sure that the Everdeens' animals were taken care of." She turns back to the white-uniformed woman. "That's Gale Hawthorne, one of the help I was telling you about. I feel responsible, you know, for making sure that my friend's animals are well taken care of and really what do I know about taking care of animals? And since the Hawthornes lost their main earner in a mine explosion a few years ago I try to do what I can to help them out. You know what I mean?" her voice is almost haughty and nothing like the girl who's been teasing me all morning.

It raises my hackles to hear her talk of my family like we're a charity case and I bite my tongue to keep from snapping at her.

The mayor's daughter ignores my rising anger and continues talking to the Peacekeeper. "As you can see, he's already seeing to the goat. So I trust it won't be a problem if they come by without me here. I've got other things to do and they know they won't get paid if I don't get proof that the animals have been taken care of."

"What kind of proof?" the Peacekeeper wants to know.

"The milk of course. I'm sure you've heard of my mother's headaches. Sometimes warm goat milk is all she can stand to drink when she's in a bad way. It's how Katniss and I got to know each other, don't you know?"

I know for a fact that the last statement is a lie. Katniss never has traded milk to the Mayor, but when I see the Peacekeeper nod I finally catch on to what the merchant girl is doing.

Madge is spinning a plausible lie for me and my family to be in Katniss's house without Madge being there. She's telling the Peacekeeper what the woman wants to hear and spinning it in such a way that keeps Katniss's and my illegal activities out of it. Again, I've underestimated her.

It's beginning to become a habit. One I need to grow out of.

The Peacekeeper leaves and I close the door. "You left the door open deliberately, didn't you?"

She smiles at me. "I figured that this would happen sooner or later. Better to deal with it sooner. That way, we don't have to waste time hanging around here when we could be elsewhere."

"Outside the fence, you mean?"

"You said it." She looks at the pail. "Is that it? Can we go?"

I nod. "You still want the milk?" I ask, pouring the white liquid into a glass jar.

"Yeah. I think Rachel has a recipe for making cheese for it. If not, I can always sell it in town."

Thinking of the snares that we have out in the woods, I ask. "When do you want to go back out?" It's only early afternoon and the sun doesn't set until eight this time of year. Mandatory Viewing is at seven, but I normally eat during that so I don't feel like I'm wasting time.

She considers it. "Supper's at six-thirty and I should be home before that to get cleaned up. So want to say meet at four at the fence?"

I nod. It's good enough for me.

**oOo**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:
> 
> Written: 11/20/13  
> Revised: 12/10/13  
> Beta read by: RoseFyre
> 
> So if any of you are aware of what point this is in my story you know that Gale is going to get a huge shock soon. But before I get there, and I will, I wanted to show what Madge and Gale are doing so I can skip it in favor of the more interesting stuff that's going to be happening with Gale and Madge.
> 
> There will be no pairings here. Gale is not over Katniss, as you can imagine. And as Madge said in Chapter Thirteen, Gale isn't her type, nor is she Gale's. Don't worry, I have plans for them both. Or maybe you should worry, this is Panem after all.
> 
> I look forward to seeing what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madge explains a few things to Gale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place after the some of the events in Chapter Seventeen of Spectator.

**oOo**

**Chapter Three**

As much as part of me wants to, I avoid turning on the Games. It's hard enough to watch Mandatory Viewing every day, let alone entire hours of the thing. I don't know how Katniss managed to do it.

Instead, I spend the time out in the Meadow with Rory, Vick and Posy. We gather enough greens for lunch and dinner and I pick some extra stuff to drop off in Lady's pen before going home to get my hunting gear so I can meet Madge.

She's watching for me and nods her head in greeting before slipping under the fence. She lets me take the lead but I can feel her eyes on me as we walk though the underbrush.

"What do you want?" I ask, turning around to face her, when I've had enough of the staring.

"I was just wondering what you did this afternoon," she replies slowly. "I'm guessing you weren't watching the Games."

"No, as a matter of fact, I wasn't. I normally don't watch the Games unless I have to." I'm letting my annoyance at the whole situation out on her.

For her part, she just shrugs. "It's probably for the best anyway."

Now she has me curious as well as annoyed. "Why do you say that?"

She gives me an odd look and crosses her arms. "Give me your word you won't do anything stupid."

My annoyance grows. "What makes you think I'm going to do something stupid?"

"Your word or I'm not saying another thing." She remains firm.

"Define doing something stupid first," I counter.

She nods her head. "Fair enough. No running around town making a fool of yourself, no angry outbursts where anyone can hear, and definitely no contradicting publically anything I say. You can yell at me all you want out here in the woods, but once we're back in town you follow my lead. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it. I'm not sure I can do it, though." I'm trying to be honest with her as well as myself. I'm not sure how I'm going to react to anything. I definitely didn't intend to confront Katniss the night of the tribute interviews. It just happened. One moment I was at home watching Mandatory Viewing, the next an incoherent protective rage came over me. It always does when someone I care about is threatened.

Madge is insistent. "You have to, Gale. Katniss's life depends on it."

An icicle of fear pierces through me. "What's happened?" I ask slowly, trying to calm my heart, which has suddenly started beating a thousand beats a second.

"Promise me, Gale."

Seeing that I won't get the answer out of her until I promise, I take a deep breath and say, "Okay, I promise I won't do anything stupid at least in town," I hedge.

"I'm going to hold you to that," she warns me. Then she finds a fallen log and motions for me to sit down on it. "You might want to be seated for this."

"Okay." I'm getting even more nervous, if that's possible.

"So you know how the Everdeens and the Mellarks were taken to the Capitol to do the interviews?" she starts.

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, you're the one who told me."

"Well, the interviews started today. Mrs. Everdeen was up first and her interview went okay. But then they got to Peeta's oldest brother, Bing." Here her voice changes slightly and I'm not sure why. "Bing talked about how Peeta was a talented artist and then he mentioned that there were sketches that Effie Trinket had that they would show later. I think I know what they are. And I think I know what the Capitol is going to make of them. But that's not all. Mr. Mellark told Caesar Flickerman about how Peeta's been slipping these specially decorated cookies into the bread Katniss trades for, and apparently he's been doing it for four years now."

I must be missing the point, none of this seems like anything for me to get upset over. "So? What's that got to do with keeping Katniss safe or me getting mad?"

Madge sits down heavily next to me and says, "Don't you see, Gale? They're going to make it out that the baby Katniss is carrying is Peeta's."

My confusion turns to rage in an instant just like it did on the night of the tribute interviews. "Katniss would never let them do that!" I start to get to my feet.

But Madge stops me with a hand on my arm. "Please, Gale, you have to understand, she may not have a choice. If she has to choose between your pride and her sister's life, what do you think she's going to choose?"

I sit back down heavily and look down at the ground, a scowl on my face. I want to say she'd do the right thing and tell the truth. I want to say she wouldn't let the Capitol or anyone else tell her what to do. I want to say that. But I can't. Because I know what she'll do. She'll lie or at least refrain from telling the truth, which is the same as a lie. She'll do it to save her sister, because Prim means more to her than anything else in the world and she'll do anything to make sure her sister lives. And what's even worse is I can't blame her.

I want to blame her. I want her to acknowledge that the child she's carrying is mine. I want her to admit she has some feeling for me. But that's not going to happen. In the end, as much as I want to cast the blame on her I know she's just as much of a victim as me in all of this. And I know that if I were in her shoes, I'd do the same thing to save Rory, Vick or Posy.

I just don't see how anyone with sense could think that Peeta Mellark could possibly be the father of Katniss's baby. She's never hung out with him, to my knowledge. Never even talked with him. No one could possibly think that they'd interacted enough to ever have a serious conversation, let alone a strong enough of a relationship that would lead to a baby.

No, Madge can't be right. She must be seeing things that aren't there. Looking up from my shoes, I turn my head to regard the merchant girl sitting next to me. "You're wrong. No one's stupid enough to believe it."

Madge rolls her eyes at me. "This is the Capitol we're talking about. The same people who think that the districts want to send two of their kids off to die every year. They are, by definition, stupid."

I shake my head. "They can't be that gullible."

"Of course they can! People see what they want to see and they'll use the flimsiest of excuses to justify their beliefs." She sighs. "I hope you're right, Gale. I really do. Not just for your sake, but for Katniss's." She stands up and brushes her pants off. "We should probably get a move on."

I nod, even though I don't really want to go anywhere I know I've got an obligation. "We should. You're still wrong though."

She regards me seriously. "And what if I'm not? What are you going to do?"

What am I going to do? I don't know.

The Mayor's daughter must be able to read that in my expression because she gives another sigh. "Why don't we watch Mandatory Viewing at the Everdeens' tonight? I'll bring some food and we can say we're taking care of the place. That way if you have the urge to do something stupid, you can do it without any witnesses, and I'll be there to stop you."

"What about you?" I ask.

She looks confused. "What about me?"

"Don't you count as a witness?"

She smiles. "I'm not going to say anything to anyone else, not even Katniss. I promise."

"Fine. But you're going to be wrong," I insist stubbornly. There's no way anyone with eyes could make that connection.

She shrugs and heads off in the direction of where we set our snares, leaving me to decide if I want to follow her or not.

I don't, but I follow her anyway because I don't want her death on my conscience.

**oOo**

The snares don't net us very much. Out of Madge's ten snares, she only managed to catch a single, frightened rabbit, its leg dislocated from the struggle to pull itself free of the snare. A quick knife thrust to the brain ends the creature's pain.

I look over to see how the Mayor's daughter handled the realities of hunting and trapping in the woods and I see what I expected to see. Horror. Her blue eyes are open wide and I can see tears forming at the corners.

"Not what you expected, is it?" I ask, unable to keep the sneer from my face.

She shakes her head. "The poor rabbit..." She glares at me. "Why did you teach me that snare? I know there are others that don't leave the animal struggling for hours in pain." Her voice is accusatory and she's taken a step toward me. "Do you like to watch things suffer? Is that why you did it? Did you want to make me so uncomfortable that I would give up on trying to learn what it's like out here that I'd stop trying to help my friend? Is that what you wanted?"

Madge's anger surprises me. I admit I'm not happy having her tagging along with me, but I didn't teach her that snare to be cruel. It's the simplest snare I know. The one that all new trappers start out learning. And I tell her so. "I didn't think about it like that. I just showed you the first snare my Pa taught me." I think about it for a moment. "Maybe that's the reason we learn it first, so that we value what it means to have to take a life in order to eat. So many people don't know what it's like to kill for their food that they take it for granted." I give her an assessing look. "I bet you don't look at rabbit stew the same way now, do you?"

Her eyes narrow, but I can see she's thinking seriously about what I said. "No, I don't. But I still don't like the idea of animals suffering. I'll take the extra time to learn the more difficult knots if it means I don't have to see that again."

I nod. "I'll teach you. But I can't guarantee you won't be forced to take the life of an animal again. Things go wrong all the time in the woods and I won't always be there to give the killing thrust. You'd best remember that."

She nods.

My snares fare better, two rabbits and a turkey. I field dress the turkey and show Madge how to do the same for the rabbits. She's clumsy and keeps making faces at the mess that comes out, but she doesn't throw up and she doesn't start crying which raises my estimation of her a little.

When we're done she asks, "So how do we go about preserving these?"

"We don't," I answer. "We're better off selling them or trading them for other things we need if we don't eat them right away. They're too small to preserve unless we got a lot of them at once."

She nods her head. "So now what?"

"I take the rabbits home to feed my family and we'll trade the turkey and rabbit pelts in town."

"Not the Hob?" she wants to know.

"Old Cray pays better than the hob for turkey. And the furrier will always take good rabbit pelts to trim coats and make hats," I reply. "He won't trade with Katniss, for some reason, but he'll trade with me."

Madge frowns for a moment. "I think I know why."

"Why?"

"His daughter hates the Everdeens," she answers.

I'm confused. "What'd they ever do to her?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing," she replies. Then she looks up at me. "You might want to stop trading with Cray soon."

"Why?" I ask. "He's always been a good customer."

She nods. "Yeah, but he's been here for about five years. They don't like to keep any Peacekeepers deployed any one place for longer than that. It makes them homesick or rebellious or both. They're probably going to replace him soon."

"So they'll just move up someone else into his place. That woman you talked to earlier or another Peacekeeper."

Madge shakes her head. "No, they don't do that. It'll be someone new. That's how it works."

"How do you know this?" I can't keep from asking.

Smiling, she gives me a look. "Whose daughter am I?"

That's right. She's the Mayor's daughter, she'd know about how the government works. "Like I'd forget," I say to cover my forgetfulness.

The look changes to something a little sadder and for the life of me, I can't figure out why.

**oOo**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:
> 
> Written: 11/21/13  
> Revised: 12/12/13  
> Beta Read by: RoseFyre
> 
> Yes, I'm stopping here. The next chapter takes place during Mandatory Viewing and is going to be a doozy for Gale. The chapters are going to be between 2000 and 3000 words unlike Spectator which has chapters as long as I want them to be.
> 
> On the subject of Cray, I tend to think, that just like army deployments, Peacekeepers don't get to be stationed in any one District for too long. Too long and they'll start to care for the population that they're supposed to be subjugating. Just look at what happened with Darius in Catching Fire and what that cost him. So since Cray's been there for a long time, according to Katniss, it's time for him to retire and move on and I will be playing with this.
> 
> The descriptions I give of how snares and trapping works is accurate. In fact, for some kinds of traps, you want the animal to stay alive so that they don't attract scavengers. Yeah. Not a happy thought and one that Collins kind of glossed over and the movie got wrong. I sort of goggled when they showed Katniss unhooking a rabbit with a slipknot snare around its leg. That kind of snare wouldn't kill an animal unless it starved to death, it had a heart attack from fear/exertion, or was killed in some other way, if you take into consideration the scene that preceded it then Katniss killing the animal becomes, well, a lot less plausible (and there's no blood.) Slipknot snares are fine, if they're set up to choke the animal or break the animal's neck. Minor rant over. So considering that Madge is new to the hunting and trapping world I wanted to cover what it's like to actually have to put down an animal for someone who's never had to before. It isn't easy, and it shouldn't be. It gives a respect for life and for where your food comes from. Something that I think would be important for Gale and his family to learn and something he'd try to pass on without really thinking about it.
> 
> Let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night of Katniss's interview in the Capitol and Gale's reaction to those events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place after the some of the events in Chapter Twenty of "Spectator."

**oOo**

 

**Chapter Four**

 

We meet at the Everdeen house about ten minutes before the start of Mandatory Viewing.   Madge is holding a cloth bag that is filled with who knows what.  

 

"What's in the bag?" I ask in lieu of salutation.  

 

She calls me out on my rudeness, "You really are impatient.   Not even a 'hello' out of you.  Just 'what's in the bag?'  Sheesh!   I know your mother trained you better than that."  Her tone tells me that she's teasing me again so I don't take offense.  

 

"Fine," I say, smiling at her.  "Hello.  What's in the bag?  Happy now?"

 

"Yes," she answers with a nod.   Opening the door to the Everdeens' house, she says, "I'll show you inside."

 

I follow her into the house and light the lantern on the kitchen table.    

 

Madge puts her bag down and pulls a whole slew of items.  There's a large paper bag full of salt and another of sugar.   There's a glass jug of vinegar and another one of what looks to be the white liquor Ripper sells at the Hob.  But that's just silly, I haven't taken Madge to the Hob yet and as far as I know none of the merchants in town sell the stuff.   Finally she pulls out three plastic containers with food in them and utensils to eat with.  Two of the containers she slides over to me, the other she keeps back for herself. 

 

"What's all this?"  I ask.

 

"What's it look like?" she counters.

 

I shrug.  "My mom does most of the cooking.   Rory helps her.   She says I've earned it since I'm the man of the house and have to provide for all of them."

 

Madge looks at me, an expression of incredulousness on her face.  "You don't cook?"

 

I can feel my defenses start to come up.  "Is that a problem?"

 

She shakes her head.  "No, not really.  I'm just surprised, that's all.   I would have thought you could do everything."

 

"Hey!  I can cook, I just don't."

 

She lets it drop.  "Anyway.  I brought you some dinner and both of us some dessert since I figured you were missing dinner by being here."

 

"And the rest of this?"  I ask.

 

"Pickling supplies," she answers with a shrug.  "Seems to make more sense for us to do most of the preserving here rather than cart what we find into town."

 

When she says it that way, it makes sense.

 

I don't get a lot more time to say anything more, because the Everdeens old television sputters to life and Mandatory Viewing begins.   Old Claudius Templesmith appears by himself.  He smiles and makes some chirpy hellos, but without Caesar there to play off of his delivery falls flat.  He goes through the recap without piddling himself in excitement of what is to follow.   The recaps today are shorter than they've been in previous days despite the deaths that occurred early this morning.  

 

I admit it, I watched some of the Games on the big screen in the middle of the square while on my way to trade the turkey to Cray.   I was happy to see that three more tributes were out of the Games, especially the two from One, but I was still anxious because the announcers kept hyping up the special interviews and unbelievable revelations that were going to happen tonight.   It made me think that Madge's guess might be right.  And I really don't want her to be right.  

 

Now with Claudius almost bouncing in his seat with anticipation, the dread grows.

 

Madge reaches over and gives my hand a sympathetic squeeze.

 

I look up at her in surprise.

 

She shrugs and opens one of the containers of food to reveal a small square nestled within.

 

"What's that?" I ask, turning away from them showing a recap of the boy from Three's death.  

 

"Bread pudding," she answers.  "You have some too and some pot roast."

 

I open the two containers in front of me to see that she's correct.   I'm not that hungry, but I start to eat anyway.  The food is filling but bland.  Which surprises me.  I expected the Mayor to eat better than this.  

 

I'm about to start on the bread pudding when the recaps finish.   Claudius announces that now it's time for the part of the show we've all been waiting for, the interviews!  They start with the boy from Two's family and I look over at Madge in surprise.  

 

"They're going in order by district for Mandatory Viewing, I think."

 

"But it's going to take all night!" I explode.  "I don't want to be stuck here for that long!"

 

"What do you want me to do about that?" she asks me quietly.  

 

"I don't know!"

 

"Why don't you see to Lady?" she suggests.   "I'll call you when they get to Twelve."

 

She's offering me an escape and I take it.

 

I go out into Lady's pen and feed her some greens Rory had brought over earlier.   To pass time, I milk her.  When I bring in the pail with the milk, I note that they've moved on to the boy from Eleven's family.

 

"They're only showing the good parts," Madge tells me, looking up from the screen.   "I saw the boy from Ten's family's interview earlier in the day and it was about five times as long as what they showed tonight."

 

"So how long do you think it will be until they get to Katniss's interview?"

 

She shrugs.  "Maybe a half an hour?  Caesar mentioned they're saving the best for last and I'm pretty sure that's her."

 

"I'll be outside until then."

  
She doesn't try to stop me, which I'm grateful for.   I go out into the Everdeens' garden and in the light of the setting sun do my best to weed it.   There aren't a lot of vegetables ready yet, but I don't want the garden to get overgrown with weeds.   I put all of the weeds that I pull into a pile to give to Lady later.  

 

About twenty minutes later, I hear Madge call me inside.  Caesar is just finishing up with Mrs. Everdeen as I walk in.  

 

"Remember what you promised," she says as I take a seat at the table.

 

I shrug my shoulders. "I'll do what I can."

 

Then it's time.  Caesar bounds up on stage and says, "Welcome back, folks!  I hope you're ready for a rare treat.  Now, I know what you're saying:  'Caesar, you've given us so many treats already today!'  And I have.  But you know me, I've got to save the best for last.  And here she is, Katniss Everdeen!"

 

My heart gives a little lurch as she walks up on stage in a lace dress the color of a candle's flame.  The swell of her stomach is unmistakable.   They've made her up like she's one of the tributes in the Games.   She's still beautiful, but it's not real.   I prefer the real Katniss.  

 

She takes a seat and looks at someone in the audience.  I wonder who.   But the camera doesn't show them.  

 

Instead it zooms in closer and from the first question I know that Madge is going to be right.   Damn her.  

 

With each question Caesar asks and Katniss answers, I feel myself becoming more and more numb.   She's lying.  I know she's lying.  I even know why she's lying.   But it doesn't stop the intense feeling of hurt that jolts through me with each lie she tells.  

 

I can even see the angle they're going to go for, good boy falls for a girl from the wrong part of town.   I can even see how the story could be plausible.  Katniss and Peeta would want to hide it because in Twelve the Merchants and Miners don't mix.   And with both of their parents' histories it makes even more sense.   The way they're spinning it, the way she's spinning it, a lot of people here might even fall for the lies.  

 

I just can't believe that she'd let them twist things like this.   Even for Prim's sake.   But she is and it hurts.  It hurts a lot.

 

Then there are the pictures.  The ones that Peeta drew.   I can see the care in each and every one of them.   Peeta loves my Katniss and has loved her for a very long time.  The detail he put into the sketches tells me this.   Especially the one of her rubbing her belly.   The way he captured my Katniss's face pulls at my heart.   She loves our child.  She may not have wanted it, but the look on her face tells me she loves it.   I'm jealous that Peeta, of all people, got to see that expression on her face and not me.  

 

The last part of the interview is pure agony for me.   While I'm happy to know I'm going to have a daughter, everything else that happens just makes me sick.   Even Katniss's auctioning off the right to name our child if Peeta and Prim come home bothers me.   I know it's a ploy, a way to make the Capitol invested in seeing Peeta and Prim win, but I don't like her deciding my child's future like that.   I'd hoped, even if we weren't together, she'd at least talk to me about what we'd name the child.   Now even that's been taken from me. 

 

The interview finishes, but I can't even bring myself to care.   The screens shift into the honoring of the tributes who died and out of the corner of my eye, I see Madge lean over and turn the sound down.

 

I'm not even registering what's on the television.  All I can see is Katniss's interview playing over and over again.   I know Madge warned me, and I'd honestly thought I'd been prepared.  I'm not.  I'm not prepared at all.  

 

"Gale?" I hear Madge ask me.  "Are you alright?"

 

I don't respond.   How does she expect me to be?  Katniss has lied.  Lied about who the father of our baby is.  She lied about her relationship with that merchant.  Every word, every action she did was a lie.   And the Capitol bought every piece of it. 

 

"I'm sorry," she says.  "I didn't want to be right.  I really didn't."

 

I still don't respond.   She says she didn't want to be right.  I want to believe her, but I can't.   Everything that I once thought was real and true is a lie.  The Katniss I knew would have never pretended to have a relationship with the baker's boy for any reason.  She wouldn't pretend anything.  It's one of the things I love about her.   I don't know this made up Katniss that I saw tonight.   She's not real.  What she said isn't real.  

 

"Gale?  Please.  Are you going to do something stupid?" Madge asks, reaching forward with one hand to touch my arm.  

 

I know that the touch is supposed to be gentle, a gesture of sympathy, one she'd already done a few times since I've known her.  But this time, it feels different.   Like a restraint.   And I don't like it.

 

All of a sudden, the numbness that had settled over me is swept away and a torrent of rage floods through me.   "Get your hand off of me!" I growl.

 

She withdraws the offending appendage quickly.  "Are you okay, Gale?"

 

I let out a short bark of laughter.  "Am I okay?" I sneer.  "What kind of question is that?  Of course I'm not okay!  How in hell am I supposed to be okay?   My girl's just claimed that my baby is some damned merchant's!  She's made herself sound like a whore, selling herself just to pay back two stupid loaves of bread!  In what messed up world would that make me okay?" 

 

Madge takes a step back at my rant.  "Gale, you promised, no doing anything stupid."

 

"And what do you define as stupid?  Because what I saw there," I say, motioning angrily at the screen, "is stupid.   It's not stupid to counter stupidity!"

 

Her eyes narrow.  "What are you planning on doing?"

 

"I don't see how that's any of your business." I get up from the table and head toward the front door. 

 

She jumps in front of me.  "Where are you going?"

 

"Get out of my way!"

 

"No," she says with a shake of her head.  "Not until you tell me where you're going and what you're going to do."

 

My voice drops to a low growl.  "Get. Out. Of.  My.  Way."

 

"No." 

 

I try to push past her, but she stands her ground, blocking me with her body.

 

"I won't let you do this!" she says, trying to stare me down.   "I'm not going to let you kill Katniss or Peeta or Prim just because of your stupid pride!"

 

The words hurt.  They hurt a lot.  Probably because I know deep down inside that they're true.  "You don't know what you're talking about," I snarl.

 

Madge looks up at me, her eyes pleading with me to understand.  "I know you're hurt.  You have every right to be hurt.  But please, please, for your baby, don't do whatever you're thinking of doing."

 

The mention of my daughter-to-be causes me to pause.   She's an innocent in all of this.   The Capitol may think that it's Peeta's but I know she's mine.   I don't know what the Capitol would do to Katniss if they learned the truth.   People have disappeared to who knows where for lesser offenses than letting the Capitol draw the wrong conclusions.   They could see her lie of omission as treason, which is a hanging offense, and act accordingly.   And chances are good that they wouldn't let her live long enough to give birth.  

 

I stop trying to push past Madge and take a step back.  

 

The Mayor's daughter watches me warily.  She probably thinks I'm trying to get her to let down her guard so I can force my way past her.   And for once, she's wrong.  

 

I get it now.   I'm still angry, but I can't act on my anger.   If Katniss were here, I could yell at her.  If Peeta were here, I could punch him.  But that's the problem, they're not here and there's no one I can take out my anger on.  Except Madge.

 

"I'm sorry."

 

The words seem to startle her and she gives me a funny look.  "Gale?"

 

I sit down heavily in one of the Everdeens' chairs and stare down at my hands.   Everything I've ever wanted is gone now.  It doesn't matter what happens the rest of the Games, in one fell swoop the Capitol has made it impossible for Katniss and me to be together and raise a family together.   Even if Peeta dies, especially if Peeta dies, they'll expect her to remain in mourning for the boy with the bread for the rest of her life.  

 

I don't know what to do.

 

I didn't realize I'd said the words aloud until Madge says, "Nothing stupid, you promised me that."

 

I look up at her, not even bothering to hide the emotions I'm feeling from my face.  "I'm not sure I know what's stupid anymore."

 

She kneels down in front of me and takes my hands.  "Well, that's what you have me for, right?  If you want to know if something's stupid or not, you just ask me and I'll tell you."

 

"So you're the expert, huh?" I ask ruefully.

 

"I wouldn't say that," she says with a small shake of her head.  "But I'm a lot less close to the problem.  So that helps."

 

I think about that for moment then say, "I don't think I should go home tonight."  I don't explain why.   I'm not sure I can.   I just have this feeling that if people get angry on my behalf without someone to stop me from boiling over that I'll end up trying to break into the Mellark Bakery in my anger or possibly do something worse, like call the Capitol and tell them the truth.  

 

Madge doesn't push me, to my relief.  Instead she asks, "Do you want to stay here?"

 

"Where else can I go?" I ask rhetorically. 

 

But somehow I'm not surprised when she answers me anyway, "We've got a guest room, if you'd rather stay someplace else.  My parents will understand."

 

I shake my head.  I don't need other people seeing me like this.  It's bad enough that Madge has, I'm not sure I could stand the Mayor seeing me without my mask.  

 

She nods her head.  "Do you want me to stay with you?" she asks me instead.  

 

Her words, so gentle and kind, touch me in a way I don't expect.  I can't speak around the knot of emotion that's settled itself in my throat and the tears I didn't even know I was holding back start to roll down my cheeks.   I let out a broken sob and crumple in on myself, slipping out of the chair and onto the floor.  

 

I feel Madge put her arms around my shoulder and I turn my head to bury it in the folds of her skirt, muffling my sobs.  

 

I cry for the girl I lost.  For the girl I never had.  For the family that will never be mine.  But most of all I cry for myself, for the man I used to be. 

 

**oOo**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:
> 
> Written: 12/31/13  
> Revised: 1/7/13  
> Beta read by RoseFyre.
> 
> So, we finally get to the chapter everyone's been waiting for. I hope it satisfies.
> 
> Gale's going through the stages of grief in regards to his relationship with Katniss. He's been trapped in a combo of Denial and Anger for a while with some Bargaining going on. He's finally slipped out of those first three stages and into Depression. Which, believe it or not, is progress. You'll be seeing more of that as we move on.
> 
> I am going to state right now that Forgotten will have 10 chapters. I have them outlined and they are going to be fairly important for the future of this little universe. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gale has a conversation with his mother and the Mayor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place after some of the events in Chapter Twenty Three of Spectator.

**oOo**

 

**Chapter Five**

 

I never make it home.   Instead, Madge holds me until I fall asleep in her arms.   I dream about Katniss walking down the aisle on President Snow's arm to a waiting Peeta.   The look on Katniss's face is pure terror while President Snow looks pleased with himself. The officiant gets to the part where the audience is asked to speak now or forever hold their peace and I open my mouth to protest when I see Madge dressed in something frivolous and clearly Capitol made shaking her head at me.  The message is clear and the words I want to say stay frozen in my throat.  So I just watch as the woman I've always loved marries another.     

 

The dream is so real that when I wake up several hours later, I have to blink a few times to make sure I'm not still dreaming.   I notice that sometime during the night, Madge has extricated herself from my grasp and covered me with a blanket.  I'm supremely grateful for this since I don't like people seeing me when I'm vulnerable and Madge has already gotten an eyeful of me at my worst.  

 

I scan the room to find Madge curled up on the bed that Katniss shares with Prim.  She's not under the covers and I can tell that she's cold.   I pick up the blanket that she covered me with and place it over her.

 

Or at least I try to, the moment I get to my feet Madge's eyes snap open.  I never would have pegged the Mayor's daughter as a light sleeper but the proof is right in front of me.   I hold out the blanket to her with a questioning expression on my face.  

 

She shakes her head and sits up.  "What time is it?" she asks.

 

I look at the clock on the shelf over the television and answer, "Almost five."

 

The girl makes a face.  "I should get home before my parents realize I've been out all night."

 

I don't know what to say.   She's likely gotten herself in trouble because of me and there's nothing I can do to fix that.   Sorry doesn't seem to cut it and I hate apologizing.  

 

She gives me a look I can't quite make out and says, "Are you going to be okay if I leave you here?"

 

I know what she's asking and a few hours ago I would have lied.  Now I know better.  "I'm not about to storm the Justice Building at the moment.  Although I can't guarantee I won't snap if someone says the wrong thing, but I'm not going to go looking for trouble."

 

"Fair enough," she says with a shrug.  "So, are we still on for hunting and gathering?"

 

"I don't know, are we?"

 

"We should be," she says decisively.  "There's still no guarantee that Peeta and Prim are going to win although their chances are better now."

 

"Yeah," I mutter.  I don't want to think about what improved Prim and the baker boy's status but Madge is right, even with the improved chances it will still take a lot for them to win.  

 

"So what time should I meet you?" she wants to know.

 

"How about a couple of hours from now?" I ask. 

 

She makes a face but nods.  I'm guessing she didn't get a lot of sleep and was hoping to sneak a nap in.   I almost offer to make it later in the day, but hold off.   Setting snares and nets is best done first thing in the morning.   She can nap in the woods later.  I'll just remember to bring a blanket with me.

 

Madge leaves me alone in Katniss's house and I find myself wandering the small shack.   There are only two rooms, a main room and a bedroom, and I wonder how Katniss will deal with having a baby in this small place.  My house isn't much better with two bedrooms and a main room.  When I get a job in the mines, I'm entitled to a house in the Seam.   I'd always planned on saving what money I could so that I could afford better than the one bedroom houses that they give new miners.  Now, I'm not so sure. 

 

I straighten up the place and put the blanket back on Katniss's bed.   I should get home myself.  

 

It's going to be a long day.

 

**oOo**

 

My mother is awake when I finally get home.   She's sitting at the kitchen table cradling a mug of tea.  I can tell from the dark circles under her eyes that she's been up all night waiting for me.   A jolt of guilt races through me.

 

She doesn't bother yelling, that isn't her style, instead she raises an eyebrow and looks me over critically.  

 

I run my fingers through my hair nervously and feel the inevitable pinwheel that I always get when I wake up in the morning.   "I'm sorry," I say preemptively. 

 

She nods, accepting my apology.  "Where did you sleep?"

 

There isn't any point to lying so I tell her the truth.  "At Katniss's.  I didn't feel like I could be around people safely."

 

"Probably for the best," she says with another nod.  "Rory was pretty upset for you."

 

"I figured he would be.   Madge made sure I didn't do anything to endanger the Everdeens."

 

"Madge is it?" my mother asks, raising an eyebrow at me.  

 

"She's a friend," I say defensively and I am surprised to realize the statement is true.  After last night, Madge is definitely a friend but I'm not sure how I feel about that.   I've always scoffed at and derided merchants and now one is my friend.   It's weird to say the least.  

 

I'm not the only one who finds this odd.  My mother gives me an incredulous look.  "A friend?"  The way she says it makes me think that she feels that I'm lying.

 

I sit down across from her at the table heavily.  "Yeah.  A friend.  Nothing else.   I'm still not over Katniss, besides she's a merchant."

 

"I'm aware of that.   I'm just surprised."

 

I snort.  "You're not the only one.  Just think how I feel!"

 

She pats my hand sympathetically, then yawns.  "If you're not in trouble, I suppose I can finally go to bed.   Are you going out again today?"  she asks, getting up from the table. 

 

I nod.  "Yeah.  The plan hasn't changed even though the story has."

 

She bobs her head.  "When are you going to go sign up for the mines?"

 

Another frisson of guilt goes through me.   We'd discussed me entering the mines as soon as my last reaping passed.   We need the money and my wages would be better than what I make in trade.   Even if I continue to save up for better housing, what I'll make is still able to buy more than what Rory would get for tesserae.   The mines are mostly closed during the Games, but there's always a skeleton crew working to provide fuel for the district.   If I'd joined right after the Reaping, I could have asked to be on that skeleton crew and started drawing a salary.  

 

"I can go today," I tell her.  "After I finish setting snares with Madge."

 

My mother raises her eyebrow at me again but doesn't comment about my companion.  Instead she says, "Good.  We could use the extra."

 

"I don't plan on starting until after the Games," I warn her.

 

"We should have enough to keep us going.  But Posy's starting to outgrow her shoes and Vick needs new pants. He split them something awful the other day and they're about done."

 

Considering that they're my old pants from when I was his age and they've already been handed down from me to Rory and now to Vick, I'm not surprised that he needs new ones.   They were pretty heavily used when I outgrew them.   "I'll try to do some trading at the Hob for material."

 

"Do that," she tells me and goes to the bedroom she shares with Posy.  

 

I make a simple breakfast for my siblings, tesserae porridge, and wash up.   There's no point in taking a full bath until after I come back from the woods, but I should take one before I go to the Justice Building and sign up for the mines.   

 

A little over an hour later, I'm on my way to the Mayor's house to meet Madge.   We'd decided not to meet at the fence today, my suggestion since it gave her a little extra time to take a nap.

 

When I get there, I knock on the kitchen door.  It opens but it's not Madge on the other side.

 

It's the Mayor.

 

He motions for me to come in and I do so reluctantly. 

 

Once inside, he looks me up and down.  "Should I be concerned about my daughter?" he asks me after a few seconds.

 

"I'm not sure what you mean?" I say slowly.  

 

"Madge assures me her virtue is intact around you, but I'm a father.  I'm sure you understand my predicament."

 

I do.   I've often thought about what I'll do when Posy is old enough to start attracting the attention of the opposite sex.  I've been looking forward to intimidating the boys who are interested in her.    So I can see the Mayor's point of view, even though I'm not interested in Madge in that way.   "She's a friend.  Nothing more."

 

He fixes me with a stern look that I'll have to remember for my Posy boyfriend intimidation later.  "And how can I be sure you're not lying?"

 

It's a fair question and while it rankles being interrogated like this by a merchant, I tolerate it for Madge's sake.  "You can't," I answer honestly, "but you should trust your daughter, sir.  You raised her.  You should know if she's telling the truth or not."

 

He laughs.  "You don't know my girl all that well, do you?"

 

"Not really," I reply.  "She was always more Katniss's friend.  This whole having a merchant friend is new to me."

 

"Does that bother you, Gale?"

 

I shouldn't be surprised that he knows my name.  But I am.   "It did at first," I admit.  "But Madge has got a way about her."

 

"That she does.  She's like her Aunt Maysilee that way."

 

I don't know who this Maysilee is so I keep my mouth shut.  

 

The mayor changes the subject.  "So what are you planning on doing now that you've celebrated your last Reaping?" he asks me.

 

I give him a bit of an incredulous glance, what does he think I'm going to do?  There's pretty much only one career path open for me.  The mines.  And I tell him so.  "I'm going to sign up to go into the mines, sir.  In fact, I'm going to go do that later today."

 

A flash of some emotion flits across the Mayor's face.   "Have you considered not going into the mines?" he asks.

 

A spark of anger starts to ignite in my belly.  Of course I've considered not going into the mines.   I'd love to run away into the woods and just live out there.  But I've got a family to provide for and I refuse to have Rory, Vick, or Posy take out tesserae to survive.    I don't have any choice but to go into the mines.   I want to tell the Mayor this, but something has me holding my tongue.   Instead, I ask, "And do what, sir?  I need to make a living to support my family."

 

"Of course you do," he says, "but there are other options than the mines."

 

I try not to let my frustration show in my voice, but I'm not totally successful.  "Like what?"

 

He seems ready for the question.   "You could work in town."

 

"Doing what?" I ask, unable to keep the suspicion out of my voice.

 

The Mayor ignores it.  "You could work for me."  I start to protest but he holds up a hand.  "It's not charity.  I need a new assistant.  I typically have three but one just retired so I'm short one.  I think you'd do a good job."

 

"Excuse me if this is impertinent, but why me?"  I ask.  "Because it sure as hell seems like charity to me."

 

The Mayor laughs and motions for me to take a seat at the kitchen counter.   "It's really quite simple, most of my staff in the past have been from the town."

 

I refuse to sit down and instead cross my arms.  "So?  You're not telling me anything I don't already know."

 

"See?  That attitude?"  He motions to me with his hands.  "That's part of the problem."

 

I know I've got an attitude, Katniss and Madge have pointed that out enough.  "What do you mean?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.

 

"We're one district, but we're divided into two parts.  Seam and Merchant.   It's not right.  And we really should do something about it."

 

It's not what I was expecting.  "And what should we be doing?"

 

"See, that's the problem.  I don't know."  He sits down at the counter and looks at me.  "I admit it, I haven't really been paying attention to over half of my charges and that's my failing.  There are just some things they don't tell you when you become Mayor, how to deal with a divided district is one of them."

 

"I'm not sure I understand."

 

"Yes, you do," he tells me.  "You know exactly what I'm talking about.   This district is divided Seam and Merchant.   It's rare for someone from the Seam to be friendly with someone from town and vice versa.   We don't talk.  We don't work together.  And that's not right.   I want to do something about it."

 

"Like what?"

 

"I don't know.  Something."  He fixes me with an earnest look that reminds me of Madge.   "That's why I need your help."

 

"Doing what?"  I want to know.

 

"Not much at first.   I'll need to show you the ropes and get you familiar with the paperwork and job duties.  But once that's done, I want you to act as an ambassador to the Seam and tell me about the people's problems.   There's not a lot I can do, but I want to do what I can."

 

His words are so earnest, I find myself believing him.   "So how much does this so-called-job pay?"  I'd like to not work in the mines, but I've got a family to support.

 

The Mayor seems to understand that because he says, "It'd be about eighty coin a month to start.  I know you could make more in the mines, but you'd only be working a half day for a few months and only five days a week."

 

"Why?"  He's right, I could make one hundred coin a month if I worked in the mines but they're twelve hour days, six days a week, in dark and dangerous conditions.  Eighty coin for a half a day is still better than what I'd make hunting and gathering.  But it seems almost too good to be true and I've learned to distrust things that seem too good.

 

Nodding his head at my question, the Mayor answers, "First off, the Capitol doesn't work on Saturday or Sunday unless there's an emergency.   You'll be on call all the time, but it's not normal hours.   Secondly, I'm expecting you to continue your education.  You're going to need to learn about the laws and forms and politics of Panem.  And you're going to need to do that on your own time.  Some of the books and papers can't go outside of the Justice Building or my office here, so you'll be spending a lot of time not at home.  But before you say no, there is a benefit for you."  He gives me a look that reminds me of Madge.  "And for Katniss," he adds as if I knew what he was talking about.

 

I don't and I say so.  "What benefit?"

 

"When you register for the mines, they take a genetic sample to identify you if something were to happen."

 

Like if I were killed in an explosion like my father was.  "So?"

 

"That paperwork and result gets sent to the Capitol for safekeeping and is flagged up for review."  He gives me another pointed glance.  

 

I'm still not getting it.  

 

It must show on my face because the man sighs.   "They did tests on the baby, Gale.   That's how they know it is a girl.  They know other things too."

 

And then it hits me.  They know that Peeta isn't the father of Katniss's baby but they don't know I am.   Yet.   "They'll know the truth soon enough," I say.

 

"But not too soon.   It may not matter in the long run.  But, better safe than sorry," he says with a shrug. 

 

It's strange to think that in his way, the Mayor is protecting me.  I don't know what the Capitol would do if they found out I was the father of Katniss's child.  They might kill me to keep up the fiction and a mine accident is easy to stage.   They might hold my existence over Katniss as a way to make her cooperate.   It's likely they already have.   The Mayor's offer protects me in much the same way that Madge's discussion with the Peacekeeper protected me.   It still feels like charity and I say so.

 

"It's not charity.  It's really not.   You're my daughter's friend.  One of the few she has.   That matters to me."

 

"So Madge put you up to this," I state flatly.

 

"No," he corrects me firmly.  "It's my decision.   Madge didn't suggest anything."

 

"Pardon me for saying so, sir, but you're lying."

 

He smirks.  "And you wonder why I want you to be my assistant.  I need someone who can see through the bullshit that I get on a daily basis and see the meat of what's actually going on.  Consider it a way to say 'screw you' to the Capitol.  It's a lot more satisfying than slipping under the fence for a few hours."

 

The fact that he knows about my daily excursions beyond the fence shouldn't surprise me but it does.   I still know better than to acknowledge his words though.   "So when do you want me to start?"  I ask instead.

 

If anything his smirk widens.  "How does tomorrow sound?"

 

**oOo**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:  
> Written: 1/14/14  
> Revised: 1/21/14  
> Beta read by Rosefyre
> 
> So... I bet you didn't see that coming now did you! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gale starts his job and the Games finally come to an end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This chapter takes place during the events of Chapters 29 through 32 of Spectator.

**oOo**

 

**Chapter Six**

 

The next few days pass quickly. Mornings are spent out in the woods with Madge trapping and gathering.   Then we return to town a little before noon. Madge takes the results of our morning's activities to clean and preserve with the help of the Undersee's maid, Rachel, while I report to the Mayor to start learning about just what it takes to be a district politician in Panem.  

 

To say that it's not what I expect would be an understatement.   I always assumed that the Mayor had more power than he really does.   He's responsible for making sure the mines are making their mandatory quotas but not exceeding them because that means that will be the new quota.   He works closely with the mine foremen to make sure that District Twelve always comes in exactly at quota. Never a pail more. And sometimes a pail less.

 

That surprises me since I know the Capitol penalizes districts who fail to meet their quotas by not sending as much food and other supplies.

 

The Mayor, who I've learned is named Orville and wants me to call him that when I'm working for him, told me that in order to keep the Capitol from figuring out that they are fudging their numbers to hide what the mines' real output is they sometimes have to come in either a little over or under the proscribed quota and in the long run under is better for the district.

 

"Not for the Seam," I say when he explains the rationale to me.

 

He gives me a hard look. "Why do you say that?"

 

I point to the months where the district has come under quota then dig out another chart which shows which months kids sign up for tesserae.   "The miners get paid less if they don't meet quota. For some families, that five or ten less coin a month is the difference between starvation and just scraping by.   Look," I say, pointing to the tesserae charts, "the months after we don't meet quota there's generally a spike in kids signing up for tesserae."

 

Orville frowns and looks at the comparison.   I can see he's not happy about what I spotted and he's even less happy when he goes back a few years and sees that the trend holds true across the board. "I didn't know."

 

I give him a hard look. "You should have known. What'd you think would happen?"

 

He looks up at me, his eyes stricken. "The merchants I talked to said that they'd lower prices for those months. Make it easier for the miners to make ends meet."

 

I think back to February, the last time there was a short quota, and try to remember if I did any actual trading in town in March.   There wasn't much. March was a bad month to be out in the woods.   A couple of heavy snowfalls early in the month meant that most animals were all holed up. I didn't get out to the woods to set traps all that often.   We mostly lived on tesserae gruel, thin soup, and mint tea. Katniss was a little better off, but not much, because March is also flu season and her mother brought in more income from trade than mine did from taking in washing. The only trading I did was at the Hob and prices were higher because of demand.  

 

Shaking my head to clear the memories, I ask, "Did you talk to the traders in the Hob?"

 

"No, why would I?" he asks in confusion.

 

"Because a lot of the Seam trades there. Merchants for the most part take coin. A lot of families don't have coin to spend so they trade for what they need. Old clothes for lamp oil, a squirrel for a jug of cider, that kind of thing."

 

He makes a face, but nods his head. "I'll ask you to talk to the traders there the next time we have a quota shortage."

 

"Me?" I look at him in shock. "Why me?"

 

"Do you really think they'll listen to me?" His eyes crinkle in amusement.

 

He's got a point.   "Fine. But you have another issue with all of this."

 

"What's that?"

 

"People aren't going to go for it. I know the merchants jack up their prices whenever there's a shortage, same thing's true for the traders in the Hob."

 

"That's why we'll ask them not to."

 

I roll my eyes. "Do you really think they're going do that just because you asked?"

 

The Mayor smiles beatifically. "They will if they don't want to get whipped."

 

My mouth drops open. "What?"

 

"Price gouging is illegal. It's true for all of Panem.   Merchants can't raise prices outrageously just because demand is high," he explains, getting up and going to his bookcase. He selects a thick tome and opens it up to the back and then flips to another section. When he gets to the part he wants he sets the book down in front of me and points. "Here, read it."

 

I do. And he's right. Merchants can't raise prices on goods more than five percent in times of shortage. If they do, and get caught, the punishment for a first offense is twenty lashes, second offense is fifty, third is confiscation of all assets and property and deportation to the Capitol for final judgment. I frown at the last, but it makes sense.   Although I wonder what happens to those people who are deported.  

 

I look up at the Mayor.   "You're still going to have a problem with the Hob. They aren't official merchants."

 

"I know," he says with a sigh. "They're actually black market dealers. I could threaten them with exposure, except I know that Cray and other Peacekeepers are regulars there. We'll have to hope that enough traders won't jack up their prices so that people will go to them instead of their greedy counterparts."

 

"It could work. If Sae, Ripper, and maybe one or two others didn't jack up their prices then maybe, but they're going to want something in return," I say after thinking in through.

 

"Like what?" Orville asks.  

 

"I don't know. What can you offer?"

 

He thinks about it for a moment then gets up and consults another book. He shakes his head after a few minutes then pulls down another large tome. While he's doing that, I flip through the law book in front of me. I want to find out what the penalties are for slipping out under the fence and for poaching but I don't want to be obvious about it.   Some of the laws surprise me. Like trash bins can't be kept in sight of the main street.   While others seem silly. It's illegal to sprinkle salt on the railroad tracks. While others are straight out frightening. The list of actions that can be considered treasonous or seditious is huge and encompasses everything from plotting to overthrow the government to failing to stand during the national anthem.

 

I don't get to actually find out what the penalties for going under the fence and poaching are because Mr. Undersee exclaims, "Got it!"

 

He takes the book he's holding back to his desk and sits down with it.   "I thought there might be something. How would your traders like to be semi-legitimate?"

 

"I'm not sure what you mean," I say honestly.  

 

He smiles at me. "It's really quite sneaky, if you don't mind me saying so, but the Capitol has what are called temporary merchant permits. They're mostly used during the Games and the Victory Tour by people catering to the crowds watching the Games.   The permits cover everything from food stalls, to drink sellers, to goods sellers and they're just what we need. A temporary permit is good for thirty days from the date it's issued and the price is pretty reasonable."

 

"The traders at the Hob are not going to be willing to pay," I warn.

 

"Of course not, as Mayor of Twelve, I can pay for it," he says, waving his hand like it's nothing. "They'd be doing a service to the district, but for those thirty days, those traders who agree not to raise prices will be legitimate. Which means they can also sell in town and out in the open so those people who are afraid to go to the Hob because it's a black market can actually trade with people like Sae or Ripper without fear during that time."

 

"What's the catch?" It sounds almost too good to be true.

 

"That's the beauty of this solution. There isn't one. The government makes its money selling the permits.   So there's no taxes or levies or anything."

 

I try to think of any downside to this and I can't. A lot of people in the Seam don't go to the Hob because they don't want to get into trouble. But if the traders were legit, they'd go in a heartbeat because the prices are cheaper than in town. But still, I don't want to commit to the idea yet. "Let me talk to Sae, first. If she goes for it, you'll have an easier time making this work."

 

"Sounds fair," he agrees. "Let me know how it goes."

 

**oOo**

 

The next morning is a Saturday and one of my days off. It's probably for the best, I need to get new clothes anyway and to do that I need something to barter with and for that I need to go to the woods.

 

Right on cue, Madge knocks on my door. It makes more sense for her to meet me at my house or in the Meadow than me walking into town to get her. Most days she brings something with her for us to eat and she always makes sure that there's a little extra for my mother and siblings. Today it's a bag of apples and a few drop biscuits. I almost want to accuse her of giving me charity, but I don't. I know she's getting something out of our arrangement too and it's because of her that I've got a job that pays well and isn't in the mines.

 

I leave the biscuits for Vick, Rory, and Posy to eat but take the fruit with us. The apples are wrinkly but they're still juicy. We eat the fruit while walking to the fence and we both save the seeds. It's a tradition in Twelve to save apple seeds and try to plant them.   Most of the time, nothing sprouts or if it does, the sprout dies off pretty quickly. But there are enough apple trees in Twelve from people planting their seeds that we keep trying.

 

"So what's the plan?" she asks.

 

She asks the same question every morning, if I didn't know she was legitimately curious I'd get annoyed. "Same thing we do every day."

 

"It's got to get boring after a while," she points out.  

 

"It's a lot less boring when your family depends on you for food." I try not to snap at her as much, but sometimes she inadvertently rubs me the wrong way.  

 

"I'm sorry," she says softly. "I didn't think."

 

I punch her lightly in the shoulder like I do when Rory says something stupid. "Just think, okay?   I was beginning to think that you weren't all merchie and then you had to go and remind me."

 

Nodding her head, she gives me a quick smile. "I'll try."

 

We slip under the fence and I take the lead.   Today, I want to set up a lot of snares and nets then start teaching Madge how to actually hunt.   Katniss, Madge, and I have pretty much gathered most of what's readily available over the last few weeks so I'm only going to have us gather a few greens and maybe some berries if we find any.   I don't want to over-gather and have nothing for next year.

 

We set up our snares quickly and efficiently. Ever since that day with the rabbit, Madge has refused to use a simple snare, preferring something that offers the trapped animal a quick death.   It isn't as easy or as fast to set, but I respect her convictions so I am happy to teach her. I still use a simple slipknot, but I do my best to make sure that the wire is set at neck level for the prey I want to catch.   Then we head to the stream and set out the nets.

 

After that, I lead her to where I keep my bow and arrows.   I'm not as good at using them as Katniss is, but I'm still pretty good.  

 

When Madge sees the weapon she gasps. Weapons like this are illegal in the districts and as the Mayor's daughter she knows that all too well. "Where'd you get that?" she breathes, staring at the bow like it's a deadly muttation.

 

I rub the wood with oil I brought to keep it water resistant and prevent cracking while I think of my answer. I traded with Katniss for the bow but I'm pretty sure that Mr. Everdeen made the weapon in my hands. "Does it matter?" I ask finally, not able to come with an explanation that doesn't incriminate Katniss or her father.

 

Madge shakes her head. "I can probably guess where you got it," she says, still staring at the bow.

 

"You'd probably be right. Did you really think that Katniss was the only one who knew how to hunt?"

 

The look on her face says it all. She did think that. I try not to laugh at her assumption, I really do, but the chuckle comes out anyway.

 

She shrugs at me and says, "I'm just a merchie kid, what do I know, right?" There's no bitterness in the words, which surprises me.  

 

"Right, but you're learning, merchie.   Soon you'll have to get some of that special Capitol-made hair dye and color your hair Seam-black cause you'll no longer be a pampered merchie kid."

 

She pulls her braid forward and studies the end. "I don't think I'd look good as a brunette."

 

There's something in her tone that makes realize that I need to answer her honestly. "You'd look good no matter what hair color you had."

 

"You going soft on me, Hawthorne?" she asks, eyeing me suspiciously.

 

I shrug. "If I am, it's 'cause of you, Undersee." I hold up the bow. "Now, do you want to learn how to hunt or not?"

 

She nods her head. "Yeah, I do."

 

"Fine, then you've gotta remember a few simple rules. One, you aren't touching the bow today or tomorrow or any day in the future unless I say you're ready, got it?"

 

"Got it."

 

"Two, no saying anything about any of this inside of the fence. You breathe a word of this on the other side of the fence and you might as well make a noose for me, Katniss, and yourself while you're at it."

 

She makes a face, but nods her head.  

 

"Three, this ain't like trapping. There's dogs, and mutts, and bears out here. You listen to me and if I tell you to run, you run. Head straight for the fence and don't worry about me. You got it? No heroics."

 

"So long as you won't try to be heroic either," she counters.

 

"Madge..."

 

"No Gale, we're partners out here, you and me. So unless you're running with me, I'm gonna stick with you. I'm not the strongest out here but two is better than one when it comes down to a fight." I can tell from the way her jaw is set that she means it.  

 

I sigh. "Fine."

 

"Any other rules?" she asks.

 

"Yeah. One. Don't die. It ain't safe out here and I don't want to have to tell your father, the Mayor, how you managed to get yourself killed on the other side of the fence." My words are light, almost teasing, but I'm deathly serious. If something happens to Madge while we're in the woods I might as well sign my death warrant right then and there.  

 

Madge seems to get it because she doesn't make any sarcastic remarks and just nods at me solemnly.

 

Rules out of the way, we set off into the brush to find a good hunting ground. Along the way, I explain that the way you hunt differs depending on the kind of prey you're looking for.   For larger game birds, like turkey or geese, the best places to get them are in open meadows or over a largish body of water. For deer, it's better to find a well travelled trail and then stake out the location. Sometimes you can bait the deer, but it's chancy and you can end up attracting animals, like possums or raccoons, which aren't good eating and will steal your bait. I don't mention that I'll still kill them and bring them home to feed my family, meat is meat and Greasy Sae will buy just about anything for her stewpot. But they're not as good or as valuable as other game.

 

"So what kind of game are we hunting for today?" Madge asks me.

 

"Honestly? Whatever's stupid enough to run across our path. No offense, merchie, but you're making so much racket that only the most stupid of animals isn't long gone."

 

A flash of hurt crosses Madge's face and I find that it bothers me. I didn't mean to hurt my friend. And that's when I realize that Madge has become a friend, not just an acquaintance with only Katniss in common.  

 

"It's not your fault," I say quickly to try to mitigate the hurt. "Learning to walk quietly in the woods takes time. You've got to slow down and think about how you move your feet and where exactly you're placing them."

 

She nods, accepting my unspoken apology. "So show me."

 

I try to, but I've been doing this for so long that it's hard to remember what it's like to not walk quietly or be aware of just what is under my feet and I find myself getting frustrated every time Madge catches on some bit of undergrowth or steps on a dry leaf. Still, she's doing better than the last time she tried when we came out here with Katniss.

 

After half an hour, Madge leans against a tree and says, "This isn't working."

 

I know I should say something kind, to give her some kind of encouragement, but I'm too frustrated for that. "No, it isn't."

 

"So, why don't we find someplace to stake out a deer and I'll work on being quiet when we go to check on our traps later."

 

It's a good idea and one I should have thought of. My father used to do the same thing with me when I was younger and still new to hunting.   We'd spend our days in a blind after setting our traps and I'd practice being quiet the whole time. I've gotten so used to hunting with Katniss that I've forgotten what my father taught me.   I nod. "So let's find a spot."

 

She motions toward the east and says, "I saw a few game trails as we were walking around back there. I think they lead to a small stream. We might be able to kill a deer when it's getting a drink."

 

I consider her proposal. It's got some good points. The sound of water will cover any sounds we might make and deer and other prey animals do need to drink. But Madge and I aren't the only hunters in the woods and ambushing prey when drinking is a common hunting tactic no matter the species. Still, it's better than sitting here doing nothing and we might be able to find a tree with good sightlines to get off of the ground so we don't become prey ourselves. I grunt my agreement with her plan.

 

"Was that a yes or a no?" Madge asks.

 

"A yes," I clarify. Shouldering my bow, I say, "Follow me and keep your eyes open."

 

We walk in silence, until we reach the place where Madge indicates she saw the game trails.   I'm a little chagrined I missed them earlier but I chalk it up to being distracted by Madge's loud footsteps.   We follow them to a branch of the main stream, one that's too shallow to set nets in to catch fish but is used as a watering spot for lots of the local fauna.  

 

I set Madge to collecting some watercress while I scout the area for a likely perch. There's a few trees that appear to have limbs strong enough to hold my and Madge's weight but the sightlines aren't the best so I keep walking.   I want a tree that has several strong limbs so that Madge and I don't have to be in separate trees and don't have to share a limb and is high enough off of the ground so that a jumping mutt won't be able to reach us.  

 

I find the tree I'm looking for about fifty yards away from where I left Madge so I go back to get her rather than yell to try to get her attention and scare away any nearby game. When I reach her, I find that she's managed to get a good supply of watercress in her bag as well as a few wild carrots. I still double check them to make sure that they're not one of the poisonous lookalikes.

 

Madge gives me a look. "I smelled them to make sure."

 

I nod, but still continue my perusal. The lookalikes are almost as deadly as nightlock and the last thing I want is to accidentally poison someone.

 

"Well?" she asks.

 

"You're good." I fix her with a look. "Hey, you know this isn't a slight against you, right?"

 

She shrugs.   "Did you find a good spot?" she changes the subject, and I'm left wondering if I've offended her.

 

"Yeah, it should be good. I hope you're up for being bored for a few hours."

 

Shrugging her shoulders again, she says. "I'll deal."

 

And she does. The first two hours are as boring as I feared, with the only excitement being a possum coming down to get a drink from the stream. I consider shooting it just to test my aim, but decide against it. At some point, Madge hands me a few carrots that she's cleaned off with her shirt and I nod at her gratefully, hunting is tedious but leaving to get lunch isn't an option.

 

Twenty or so minutes later, I check the sky to see how late it's getting and note it's after one which means that in another hour or so we should go check our traps and nets to make sure no scavengers have made off with our kills. It's looking like it's going to be a bust day. They happen, but it's discouraging.

 

"Gale..." Madge hisses, catching my attention.

 

I look over at the girl and see her pointing at something in the undergrowth.   There's something moving in the brush. Something fairly large.  

 

I click my tongue to let her know I've seen it and slowly ready an arrow. I don't want to draw yet, not until I know what it is.  

 

We don't have long to wait, because the animal steps into view and I draw in a sharp breath. It's a bear. I haven't seen one out here in the woods since Katniss and I teamed up. I know they're here because I've seen the signs, claw marks on trees and paw prints around streams, but I've never killed one before.   Wild dogs are much more common predators.

 

The bear is large but with my hunter's eye I estimate it's a little over a hundred and thirty pounds.   That's a lot of meat.   I could feed my family for most of the winter off of it.

 

The bear shuffles forward toward a cluster of flowering plants and starts munching on the bright yellow flowers. I lift my bow and carefully aim before drawing back on the string. Once you draw your bow there are really only two options, fire or abort. I anchor the arrow to my cheek and release the bowstring.  

 

I know right away that my shot is going to miss my target, the bear's heart, and go wide. So when it slams into the animal's gut, I'm unsurprised.  

 

The bear roars in pain and takes off along the stream toward the tree Madge and I are sitting in. A lucky break for me.

 

I nock another arrow and readjust my aim, tracking the wounded animal.   I'm not going to get another chance.

 

I fire and this time my aim is truer and the bear drops.   But the animal isn't dead yet, not fully.   I can still make out the rapid rise and fall of the animal's chest and even worse, I can hear the whimpers of pain coming from the bear's mouth.  

 

Dropping to the ground so that I can get a better shot, I take a few steps closer to the bear and nock one last arrow.   I aim carefully, this time at the bear's head so that I can put the wounded animal out of its misery, and fire.  

 

The bear's whimpers stop.  

 

Behind me, I hear Madge clamber down out of the tree to come stand next to me. "Are you okay?" she asks.

 

Mutely, I nod my head. I feel a little numb and in shock. I haven't killed an animal this size before and the fact that it took three arrows to fell the beast isn't lost on me.   The disparity in my and Katniss's skill has never been so apparent.   My mind keeps replaying the bear's dying moments. The whimpers of pain as it breathed its last are going to stay with me.

 

"So now what?" Madge asks.

 

Her question shakes me out of my reverie and I struggle to pull myself together.   The bear will provide Katniss and my family with a lot of food, but only if we butcher it in time.   The gut shot could have punctured the intestines and tainted the meat, making the bear's death almost useless.

 

"We need to field dress it and wrap it up," I tell her.  

 

She nods her head. "Show me."

 

I step forward carefully, my knife drawn. I know instinctively the bear is dead, but it's better to be safe rather than sorry.  

 

I show Madge how to field dress the animal from slitting the animal's throat to drain the blood to removing the digestive tract and other undesirable offal like the bladder and reproductive organs. The liver, heart, lungs, kidneys and pancreas I remove and wrap in plastic salvaged from some Capitol shipment and put them in a bag to carry back to town. I'm grateful to see that the arrow that missed its mark punctured the liver and not the intestines of the beast. The meat should still be good.

 

But that reminds me of another problem, how are Madge and I going to get the animal back to my house in the Seam without being spotted?   The fur is too valuable to leave behind as are the teeth and claws.   And even with the entrails removed, the animal weighs close to ninety pounds.  

 

"I've got a toy wagon," Madge says, breaking my concentration.

 

"What?"

 

"I've got a toy wagon," she repeats, "from when I was a kid. It should be able to hold the bear and we can cover it with flowers and stuff from the Meadow to hide it.   It should work so long as we don't get stopped."

 

"And if we get stopped?" I can't help but ask. "There's no way we can hide the way it was killed."

 

She shrugs. "We'll deal with that if it happens. I can scout ahead and warn you if anyone is coming if you want."

 

I nod. It's a good idea, better than anything I could think of and that's what we do. Madge goes ahead to my house to drop off the organ meat and pick up her wagon while I struggle to get the bear back to the fence.  

 

I still beat Madge but when she returns I see she's got Vick and Rory with her.   We cover the bear with an array of flowers and plants and carefully walk back to the Seam.  

 

"How much meat do you think that is?" Madge asks me, motioning Rory ahead to act as scout.  

 

"Probably about fifty pounds, give or take. The pelt's pretty heavy and it'll be valuable so that's good.   Katniss and her family should be able to survive most of the winter on what we can preserve."

 

"So we're done, she's set?"

 

I look at the covered animal and realize Madge is right.   Once the meat is preserved, the Everdeens will have enough to make it through the year. Katniss might not need to take out tesserae if the pelt sells well.   The thought makes me feel better.  

 

We reach my house without incident and my mother takes over the butchering and preserving of the meat, putting Rory and Vick to work helping her.

 

I fry up some of the liver and place it between a few slices of bread for Madge and myself. I don't bother turning on the television. There's six tributes left and there was the girl from Five's death yesterday. If anything's going to happen, it will happen later in the day.

 

Liver sandwiches in hand, I grab my hunting pack, another piece of discarded plastic, and a bag and go to the door. "Ready to go back out?" I ask.

 

Madge gets up and washes her hands at the sink. "Sure. We still need to check the nets and snares, right?"

 

"Right."

 

The trip back to woods is quick and we make our way, checking on the snares first since the cool water of the stream will keep the fish fresher. It's a good thing we got the bear because the only animals we manage to trap are a rabbit and a raccoon. I field dress them quickly and go back to the stream.   There our luck is a little better, two trout and a large catfish.   They will be good trading at the Hob and maybe I can actually trade the fish for a little coin so I can buy some better clothes.  

 

It's about three when we get back to Twelve. There's an exited hum as Madge and I approach the Hob. I'm guessing something good has happened in the Games.

 

We enter the decrepit building and I'm surprised to see that it's almost empty. More surprisingly, several of the stalls are closed down, including Ripper's.   I make a beeline to Greasy Sae's booth, one of the few that's still open, and ask, "What's happened?"

 

"Didn't ya hear, boy? Them two's done it," she answers with a wide grin.  

 

"What?" Madge asks from beside me. I'm glad I'm not the only one who's confused by Sae's answer.

 

"The little Everdeen gal and the Baker's boy done did it. Spite of everything, they won," she clarifies.

 

Prim and Mellark have won. They're coming home as Victors.   Two of them.   I'm in shock.

 

I feel Madge's hand lead me to one of the stools at Sae's booth and help me sit down. I can't even bother to snap at the girl for helping me, because I'm still reeling.

 

I don't know whether to feel upset or elated so I settle for numb.   I'm happy Prim's coming home. I like the girl and I'm glad she's alive for Katniss's sake. Even the little twinge of frustration that all of the work Madge and I have been doing for the last week has pretty much gone to waste isn't what makes me feel so conflicted over this outcome.

 

It's the fact that Mellark won too and now Katniss is going to feel that she owes him for saving the life of her sister. Katniss's been playing up this big romance with Mellark but there's always been the chance that she wouldn't have to follow through on her claims. Now the Capitol is going to want to see the payoff of the great love story and Katniss is going to have to deliver. I don't know if she can. And worse, I don't know if I'm going to be able to bear it.

 

I glance up at Madge and see the concern on her face. She's worried about what I'm going to do.

 

And frankly, so am I.

 

**oOo**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:  
> Written: 10/6/14  
> Revised: 10/7/14  
> Corrected Error: 10/9/14  
> Beta read by Rosefyre
> 
> Sorry for the long wait. Real life did hit hard as well as the dreaded "Other fandom-bug" I've been hanging around in the MCU and HP sections. HP is an old fandom love of mine and the MCU is such a fun playground.
> 
> I am working on Spectator, but ended up getting blocked because I wrote myself into a corner. After excising about 2,000 words I'm ready to take another stab at it. This chapter was hard because quite literally I needed a timeline of what was happening when because it made a difference in what happened in this story. RoseFyre was very helpful with this because seriously it bugs me when writers cannot do math and contradict themselves but we realized that quite literally there were a few jam packed hours on the last day of the Games. BTW, if you care, the Games ended on June 18. In my universe, Reaping Day is June 1. There is no canon date for it, just somewhere in the summer/spring some time. I know Fanon has it as happening on July 4, but there's nothing canon that supports that. I based my dates on the plants that Katniss gathered, skewed for some global warming, specifically strawberries. Strawberries ripen in late spring/early summer and not so much in the heat of high summer. Because having a knowledge of botany is a good thing. 
> 
> Black Bears are common in the forests of Virginia and West Virginia. They are omnivores and fairly small, all things considered, with adults typically being around the same weight as a human. They are pretty good eating with a flavor similar to that of venison or mutton or if prepared and preserved right, lean beef. A 150 pound animal yields about 60 pounds of usable meat. This does not include offal (organ meat). A lot of the weight is in the bones and hide of the animal.
> 
> Thanks for reading and sticking with me!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This is Gale's side story which takes place in the same universe and runs concurrently to my story "Spectator." You will likely want to read that fic first since I will be making reference to the events that take place in it. This chapter takes place during the events of Chapters 32 through 34.

**oOo**

 

**Chapter Seven**

 

"Gale?" Madge's voice is carefully modulated, but I can still hear the concern in it.

 

"I'm okay," I tell her even though I'm really not. "Let's finish up here and head back."

 

"I don't think we've milked Lady yet. Do you want to watch the recap at Katniss's house?" she asks me out loud, but it isn't what she's really asking. She's really asking if I'm going to be able to hold myself together while watching. It's a fair question. One I'm not sure I can answer.

 

"I think that might be a good idea," I reply.

 

She nods. She understands.

 

We finish at the Hob, trading with the few traders still there. Then we go to Rooba's. The butcher will pay better for the fish, and considering that people will be celebrating Prim and Peeta's win, she's likely to sell what I have.

 

The stocky woman is pleased and even takes the catfish, something she typically turns down, because she's already mostly sold out of her stocks. People are splurging in anticipation of the additional food and supplies. I can see several people erecting a bonfire and setting up chairs in the main square to watch the recap.

 

I can't begrudge their happiness but that doesn't mean I need to join in. I'm happy Prim will be coming home. I just don't like what Peeta's survival means for my chances with Katniss.

 

We stop at Madge's house to let her family know where we'll be. She's been out all day and they're probably worried. Her mother mentions dinner and Madge goes to the kitchen to pack up our meal.

 

I head upstairs to see the Mayor. I find Orville in his office on the phone. I don't want to disturb him but he waves me into the room when he sees me. He's talking to someone in the Capitol, arranging the first shipment of supplies for general distribution. From what I'm able to figure out, he's trying to get the first round of the winning Victor's district rewards sent now, rather than on the first of the month.

 

The district which supplied the winning Victor of that year's Games gets to share in its Victor's winnings for the next year. Each household, rather than each person, will be given provisions that ostensibly should feed a family of four for a month. It's more than what's given out in tesserae rations, which is just grain and oil. There's dried beans and canned meat and even candy! I foresee a lot more marriages and babies this year to take advantage of the Capitol's generosity.

 

When he gets off the phone, Orville looks over at me. "I've been trying to talk the distribution office into sending one third of the monthly provisions now and just sending only two thirds of the supplies next June."

 

"And?" I know why he's doing this. It's been a hard month in Twelve. June always is. The mines run on a skeleton crew and not everyone is working. That makes it harder for poorer families to make ends meet. And with it being so early in the year, most of the small gardens we have in the Seam haven't started producing much. The majority of families with reaping age children end up having to take out tesserae to make it through the month.

 

Orville sighs and scrubs at his face with both hands. "They wouldn't budge. The shipment will arrive on July 1, along with a new Head Peacekeeper to oversee the distribution."

 

A frisson of dread trickles down my spine. That can't be a coincidence. "Any idea of who the new Head'll be?" I ask.

 

The Mayor shakes his head. "No. I never do. For all I know, they haven't figured out who they're going to be sending yet."

 

I nod my head and change the subject, "I'm going to be borrowing your daughter for Mandatory Viewing tonight."

 

"Think you'll need someone to keep you in check?" Orville asks, amused.

 

"Maybe," I admit. "But I hope not. Still, it's better to be safe than sorry."

 

"That's a good point. Speaking of. I recommend you curtail your extracurricular activities once the new Head arrives. Cray may not care about such things, but a new Head will have new directives and is likely to be more stringent. I'd hate for something to happen to you." He fixes me with a very stern look. "Or to Madge."

 

I get it. Part of me bristles at the warning, but another part understands why Orville needed to give it. I don't have a lot of respect for the rules and tend to pick and choose which ones I want to follow. It hasn't been a problem in the past since Cray and his team of Peacekeepers haven't been terribly interested in enforcing the laws. But that's about to change. Madge is like me, a bit of a rebel, and I understand Orville wanting to keep his daughter safe. I'm the same way with Posy.

 

There's a knock on the door and I turn to see Madge standing in the doorway. "We've got about an hour before Mandatory Viewing starts. We should probably get going."

 

"Go on," Orville tells us. "Don't let me keep you. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I'll see you Monday."

 

I nod. "Thanks. I'll try not to keep Madge out too late."

 

He waves me off. "She's a big girl and she knows what she's doing. I'd rather have her safe with you than wandering about after dark when there's going to be a lot of drunk people out."

 

There's something in the way he says it that makes me think that there's more to it than him being afraid of a few drunks. Most people in the Seam know better than to try anything with the Mayor's daughter or with any merchant. The Peacekeepers would flog first and ask questions later. That's when it hits me, the Peacekeepers. They're likely to be out in force tonight because of the chance of rowdiness and rioting. They'll likely have orders to keep the peace at all costs and they'll be enforcing curfew and Mandatory Viewing more rigorously than normal.

 

Curfew ostensibly starts at midnight and is in effect until six in the morning. It's also a bit of a joke in Twelve. No one bothers paying attention to it. The first shift in the mines starts at six-thirty in the morning. That means people are often up and about earlier than that to run errands before they start work since they'll be too tired and dirty afterward. The Peacekeepers in Twelve know this and so don't bother to enforce curfew so long as you aren't sneaking around getting into trouble.

 

"Any word on when the Mellarks and Everdeens will be coming home, Daddy?"

 

The Mayor makes a face. "Unfortunately, no. My contact was very tight lipped about the whole thing."

 

"Ah. That means they want it to be a surprise, doesn't it?"

 

"Probably. They also probably don't know what they're doing for the recap, yet, but I wouldn't expect to see Katniss any time soon."

 

I'd been expecting it, but my heart sinks a little at the confirmation. I'd hoped that once the Games were over that Katniss and the others would be sent home. Hearing the Mayor say it, dashes that little bit of hope I'd been holding on to.

 

"Come on, Gale, we need to go."

 

I nod. "I'll see you Monday," I tell Orville.

 

"Keep out of trouble."

 

"I'll try." I don't add that I'm not sure just how successful I'll be.

**oOo**

 

We stop at my house to drop off my purchases before heading to the Everdeens' house. My mother is pleased to see the large paper bag of salt and the smaller one of crushed herbs. The whole house smells of cooking meat and my mother is humming to herself as she moves around the kitchen. It's something I haven't seen her do in years. Not since my father died.

 

The bear along with the promised winner's district rations means that she doesn't need to worry about Rory taking out tesserae. That we're going to have enough food to feed our family for a whole year. I never realized just how much that preyed on my mother. I know it's been a huge concern of mine for years, but she's always seemed so put together that I've never noticed just how much she's been suffering. It's an eye opener.

 

Tomorrow, I'll need to take the bear's pelt, teeth, and some of the bones into town to try to sell.   But for now, we're in the way. She's got the smoker going out back to preserve the majority of the meat and she's making soup stock from the scraps and a few of the bones. There's a slurry of the last of our tesserae grain mixed with salt, herbs, and the ground up remaining offal from the bear resting on the counter next to the stove.

 

Madge wrinkles her nose at the disgusting looking mixture. I don't blame her, if I didn't know what it was going into, I'd wrinkle my nose too.

 

"It's for sausages," I tell her. "She'll stuff the mixture into some cleaned intestines and put them in the smoker to cure. They'll be good for years that way and nothing will go to waste."

 

The Mayor's daughter nods. "I could have gone my whole life without knowing how sausage was made."

 

"It is pretty disgusting," I agree. "But it's good knowledge to have."

 

She nods. "I suppose."

 

My mother shoos Madge and me out of the house. She's got enough helpers. Posy is working on grinding the salt and herbs together into a fine dust while Rory and Vick take turns minding the stove. Our house is small, and with all of the activity it feels smaller.

 

When we get to the Everdeens' house, there's a surprise waiting for us on the doorstep. A dead mockingjay.

 

Madge kneels down and examines the dead bird. "Who could have done this?" she asks, stricken.

 

"Buttercup most likely," I tell her. "He's a bit of a hunter, or so Katniss tells me. Supposedly he leaves gifts like this all the time."

 

"That's horrible!"

 

"Why? He's a predator. He's just doing what he's supposed to do." I don't understand why Madge seems so upset over the death of a stupid bird.

 

"We should bury it," she says firmly.

 

"Why?" I ask again. "The thing's food for Buttercup and it means we don't have to feed the cat."

 

"You don't understand," she says sadly.

 

"So explain it to me."

 

"Mockingjays aren't supposed to exist, but they do. They're a symbol."

 

"A symbol for what?"

 

But Madge just shakes her head, unwilling to explain further.

 

I look at the dead bird and at the merchant girl mourning it and sigh. "Fine, we can bury the bird."

 

"Thank you," she says simply.

 

I grunt and go inside to find the small garden shovel I know the Everdeens have. The funeral for the bird, I can't call it anything else, doesn't take long. Madge places the body carefully in the paper bag that held our supper and puts it in the hole I've dug. The food itself is on the counter, waiting for us to eat it when we're finished. I almost expect her to say a few words over the bird, but she doesn't. She just helps me cover the paper wrapped body in silence.

 

We go back inside and wash our hands.

 

The silence is stifling. I don't know what to say and I've got the impression that I've disappointed her somehow.

 

"I'm sorry about the bird," I try.

 

"No, you're not," she counters. "But thanks for saying so. You don't understand and I can't explain it to you."

 

"Can't or won't?"

 

"Can't. It's something you either understand or you don't." She sighs. "You're very literal, Gale. You see things in black and white and the world really doesn't work like that."

 

"I'm learning," I protest.

 

"You are," she agrees. "Slowly. But you're learning."

 

The screen comes on, signaling the start of Mandatory Viewing. Madge gets up to heat our food in the oven while I watch the Games. I'm surprised to see just Caesar Flickerman on the screen without Claudius Templesmith. I wonder what happened to the orange haired man. Caesar does the best he can without his co-host but without Claudius to piddle in excitement he comes off as forced. He announces that since today was such a momentous day, Mandatory Viewing is going to be extended by an hour.

 

I can imagine so. When Madge and I set out this morning, there were six tributes left, and less than twelve hours later there were only two still standing, Prim and Peeta.

 

They start with the seemingly never ending parade of silver parachutes. I laugh at the broomsticks and Peeta's cleverness at figuring out what they were for. I wonder whose idea that was, I'd like to shake their hand - it was ingenious. Then they show District Eleven's tributes being pursued by the two cat-like muttations. I find myself rooting for the little girl and the larger man, even though I know that they're going to die. When they do, I'm angered. The girl, Rue, didn't even have a chance to recover. A knife in the back and she was out. The boy almost managed to take the brute from Two out before he was felled by another knife in the back. I find myself hating the girl from Two with a passion. I'd almost felt sorry for her, but after watching her coldly murder the two from Eleven all of my pity is gone.

 

Even when she's faced with Cato's incapacitation and imminent death I can't find it in my heart to forgive her. She deserves this.

 

Madge puts our food down in front of me and I look up at her in surprise. Her eyes are sad and she says, "Those two are just another pair of victims of the Games. Don't hate them for doing what the Capitol brainwashed them to do. Hate the institution that brainwashed them."

 

"Those are dangerous words," I say, softly.

 

"I know. But you needed to hear them. You're angry, I get that, but you need to be angry for the right reasons."

 

I turn back to the screen and with Madge's words in mind I'm able to see the destroyed seventeen year old girl who's just watched her dreams crumble around her. Yes, she's a killer. Yes, she's ruthless. But that's what she was trained to be. Underneath it all she's just another child who's been sacrificed for the Capitol's pleasure.

 

Seeing Clove break down and descend into madness is sobering. The Games broke her utterly. I realize I'm afraid that the Capitol will do the same to Katniss.

 

The final confrontation between Prim, Peeta and Clove is painful to watch. Prim's injury is horrendous and what's even worse is the fact that they play it over and over again in gruesome slow motion. I have to hand it to Peeta, I'd never given him much thought or credit before the Games, but watching him now I can see his determination and his resolve. He's going to make sure Prim comes home, no matter what. My thoughts are proven right when, after he finishes off Clove, he pulls out the berries that the red haired girl from Five gave him. Part of me wishes he'd gone through and actually swallowed the berries, but then I'm horrified at the thought. Peeta hasn't done anything wrong. I'm only angry because he's about to get the one person I've always wanted, Katniss.

 

They finally declare both Peeta and Prim the winners of the Seventy Fourth Hunger Games and I turn away from the television to find that my supper's gone cold. I take it over to the oven to reheat it again since biscuits and gravy are almost inedible cold, before turning to face Madge.

 

She's watching me carefully, waiting for me to make the first move.

 

"Tell me about Mellark."

 

Madge blinks in surprise. Clearly, my question was not what she was expecting. "What do you want to know?" she counters.

 

"Everything," I answer quickly. "All I know about him is that he's a merchant, like you. That he's good at wrestling. That he's an artist. And that he's got a crush on my best friend. None of that tells me very much about him."

 

"It actually tells you a lot about him," Madge says, tilting her head to the side.  

 

"I'm just an idiot from the Seam. Explain it to me."

 

"You're not an idiot and just stop it with that damned Seam versus Merchant crap. I'm sick of it. Each person is an individual, stop trying to pigeonhole us just so you can feel superior. It's classist bullshit and you're playing right into the Capitol's hands. How much do you want to bet that every single district in Panem has some kind of class divide to keep people from realizing who the real enemy is, huh?"

 

That draws me up short. It's just like in the Games where it's the Careers versus the Non-Careers. We're so focused on one versus the other that we forget that the real people we should be mad at are the people who put them in the Arena in the first place.

 

"Sorry." And I am. I keep getting hung up on the things that have been a constant my whole life that I forget that the world isn't as simple as I thought it was.

 

"I don't want your apologies. I want you to wise up," she snaps.

 

"I'll try. I'm probably gonna backslide though, fair warning."

 

She huffs. "So you want to know about Peeta now, do you?"

 

"Yeah."

 

"He's got a good heart, a gentle one. Whenever a girl or a guy got dumped in our year Peeta would do something nice for them. Said he knew what it was like although most of us wondered who'd dumped him, since as far as most of us knew he'd never had a girlfriend or boyfriend."

 

"But you knew better." It's a statement.

 

"Yeah, I did. I've known his reason since we were little. He never wanted to play house with me, I finally got him to tell me why after months of pestering. He was there for me when my heart was broken and I was there for him when his was."

 

I'm confused. "But Katniss said she'd never talked to him. Not until the day of the Reaping."

 

"You don't need to interact with someone to have your heart broken by them. How do you think he felt when he found out Katniss was pregnant?" The question is pointed.

 

So I think about it, trying to put myself into his shoes. "I guess I'd think I'd lost my chance. That the girl I loved was in love with someone else."

 

"Give the man a prize! That's exactly what he thought. He gave her up when he found out, or at least that's what he told me. It's a little harder to make the heart understand."

 

"Who broke your heart?" I ask, my mind finally registering what she said earlier.

 

She wags her finger at me. "Ah-ah! You asked about Peeta. My secrets are my own."

 

I decide not to push. "So what else can you tell me about Peeta?"

 

"He takes after his father rather than his mother. He's smart, really smart. Probably the best in our grade if he worked on it or cared. He doesn't though. He prefers to draw or make up little fantasy worlds he can escape to. He's also good at reading people. And he's persuasive. He probably could have talked his way into the Career Pack if he wanted to."

 

"He sounds perfect," I say glumly.

 

"Hardly," Madge snorts. "He's stubborn. Probably as stubborn as Katniss is, but he's better at hiding it. He's also a really good liar. Like really good. He's talked his way out of so much trouble it's a wonder he hasn't been caught yet. He's also a little like you. He tends to see things as either right or wrong but he's less pig headed about it. He doesn't have to agree with you, but you're going to have a hell of a time changing his mind."

 

"You're not making me feel better."

 

"I'm not doing this to make you feel better. You wanted to know about Peeta. I'm telling you about Peeta."

 

"Will he be good to Katniss? To our baby?" I finally ask, getting to the core of what's really bugging me.

 

She sighs. "I wondered when you'd get around to actually asking that question."

 

"Well, I have. So answer."

 

"You're so sure the Capitol is going to force them to get married?"

 

"You're the one who tells me to think. The Capitol's gonna want to see the love story carried out. They're gonna feel that they're owed that. Never mind that it was just a sham for the cameras, they're gonna demand a payoff and nothing less than them getting married and living the fairy tale is gonna do. Tell me I'm wrong." I try to keep the pleading out of my voice and I mostly succeed but I'm sure Madge hears it anyway.

 

"I can't. Because you're right."

 

"So please tell me he'll be good to her. That he'll take care of Katniss and my daughter. That he won't hate my little girl because he's not her father."

 

"He's not going to hate your little girl and he loves Katniss. He'd do anything for her. And if that means being a good father to her daughter he'll do it without a second thought. He'll do his best to make them both happy, even if he's not sure how to go about it. He's a good guy, Gale. You should talk to him when he gets back."

 

"I might. But not right away. I'm not sure I'll be able to control myself around him."

 

"You're going to have to if you want to keep your family safe," she tells me bluntly.

 

"I know," I mutter, staring down at the worn wooden floors of the Everdeen house.

 

"You'd better get your food before it burns," she tells me after a few minutes.

 

I open the oven and see that the tops of my biscuits are starting to turn from brown to black. "Hey Madge," I say, with my back to her.

 

"Yeah?"

 

"You're a good friend."

 

**oOo**

Sunday is a lazy day.

 

I've spent so much time with Madge out in the woods frantically trying to lay in enough stores for Katniss's and my families for the winter that I've been neglecting what's important. Namely, Rory, Vick and Posy.

 

I should start teaching Rory and Vick about the woods, but I want them to stay children for a little while longer. Rory's only thirteen and Vick's even younger. I don't want them to be forced to grow up too soon like I was.

 

Madge shows up early as usual, carrying a bag of food - cheese sandwiches and some rubbery carrots that must be from last season's crop. I feel bad when I tell her that I don't want to go into the woods today. With all of the meat from the bear and the anticipated supplies from the Capitol I don't need to.

 

She just shrugs and asks, "So do you want me to go?"

 

"You don't have to."

 

"That isn't an answer."

 

I think about it. Do I want Madge to go home? A few days ago I would have said yes in a heartbeat but today I'm reluctant to. "Not really. I just want to enjoy the day off."

 

"Fair enough. What do you want to do?"

 

"Well, I need to trade what's left of the bear." I motion to the bear pelt, claws, teeth, and bones. "We didn't have time yesterday and it's going to go bad if we don't."

 

She nods and asks, "In town or at the Hob?"

 

"Both. The furrier will pay better for the hide but the Hob will pay better for the rest of it."

 

"We should go to the Hob first," Madge says. "Mr. Ruskin isn't a morning person, he takes after his sister in that respect."

 

"His sister?"

 

"Peeta's mom. The new furrier is her older brother, Uriah. He just took over from his father this month. Peeta told me that one of reasons his mom is so difficult is because she hates having to get up early in the morning to bake bread."

 

"Think he was telling the truth?"

 

She shrugs. "I don't know. Does it matter? Let's hit the Hob first then go to Mr. Ruskin's. After that, what we do is up to you."

 

The Hob is bustling even this early in the morning, people are moving from stall to stall buying, selling and trading. There's a feeling of euphoria that's permeating the coal dust filled building. Sae happily takes the bones including the bear's head, exchanging them for several small bags of herbs, a small ball of cheese, and a jug of vinegar. Another vendor who specializes in odd trinkets and collectables practically drools over the teeth and claws. I'm able to trade them for several nice buttons, a worn silk tie, and several lengths of wool cloth. Even if my mother can't turn the cloth into a suit for me, the fabric can be used to make clothes for Rory, Vick and Posy.

 

Sneaking the pelt into town is harder than I anticipated. With the Peacekeepers out in force, we can't just waltz through town with it in Madge's wagon. And the furrier is too much of a stuck up merchant to come out to the Seam. It's too big to fit into my hunting pack or any of the other bags I have around my house. We finally end up wrapping the thing up in some old rags and tossing it in one of my mother's laundry baskets. I'm going to need to wash the basket thoroughly when we get back, but for now it'll work.    

 

Mr. Ruskin tries to hide the gleam of avarice that comes into his eye when I unroll the pelt in his shop. It's a good pelt with minimal hair loss. My mother made sure to scrape off all of the fat and blood vessels from the hide so it wouldn't start to rot. I know it's a good quality item and so does the furrier.

 

Naturally, he tries to cheat me. The pelt is worth at least thirty coin and I could get that in a heartbeat at the Hob and he offers me ten, citing the contraband nature of the item and the fact that it's been almost twenty four hours since I killed the bear.

 

"Mr. Ruskin, do you want the pelt or not? Because frankly, that's insulting and dishonest and I think I'm going to need to tell my father about your disreputable business practices." She walks around the room, taking note of the prices and the quality of the items. "I seem to see evidence of price gouging in here and misrepresentation of your products." She holds up a pair of fur trimmed gloves. "It says these are trimmed with fox fur. More likely fox squirrel fur. Did you really think someone wouldn't notice?" It's at times like this, that I'm glad Madge is my friend.

 

The furrier splutters at Madge, but the girl just regards him calmly. She knows she has him and he knows it too.

 

"I must have misspoke, Miss Undersee, I meant to say thirty-five coin?" he offers to see if she'll accept it.

 

She doesn't. The corners of her mouth dip downward and her eyes narrow.

 

He tries again. "No. No. That won't do. Will fifty work?"

 

"I think I'll have to go show these to my father," she says instead. "I'm sure Peacekeeper Cray will be interested too."

 

"Eighty! I meant eighty!" I struggle to keep my face under control. It's twice what I was hoping to get.

 

She regards the gloves in her hand and turns to face me. "Is that acceptable to you, Gale?" There's something in her voice that tells me that I should push the man a little farther.

 

I look around the store and spot two small stuffed bears made out of angora felt in grey and white. Posy would love the grey one and I can almost picture my future daughter sleeping with the white one. "Throw in the two bears over there and you've got a deal."

 

The man looks like he's about to protest, but Madge takes one step towards the door and he quickly changes his mind. "Done! Stay right here and I'll go get your money."

 

Madge stays in character as the haughty Mayor's daughter for the entire time that he's gone. When he returns, she makes a show of watching him count out the money and double checks his count right in front of him, noting that he'd shorted me by two coin.

 

The man visibly blanches and hurriedly puts two coin on the counter and waves to the gloves still held in Madge's hand. "Keep 'em. For your trouble, Miss Undersee."

 

Madge flashes the man a tight smile and pockets the squirrel fur trimmed gloves.

 

I scoop the money into my old coin purse and collect the two bears from their shelf.

 

When we get outside and out of sight of the furrier's shop, Madge's haughty facade cracks and she breaks down laughing. "What an ass! What an arrogant, stuck up, ass!"

 

I smile. "To be fair, he probably thought he was dealing with an uneducated boy from the Seam."

 

"The fact that I walked in with you should have clued him in that you were anything but. If he couldn't figure that out, he deserves to be cheated."

 

"He'll still be able to make a profit on the pelt," I say. "I'm pretty sure that the stiff from the Capitol that comes every month to oversee the coal shipments has a bit of a fur fetish."

 

"How do you know that?" she asks.

 

"One of the people I trade with in the Hob told me," I explain. "Mr. Ruskin always comes by and buys the man out right before the coal shipment is set to go out. I decided I should look into it because it might be easier to go to the source and cut out the middleman. This guy apparently can't get enough of real fur something about how the fake stuff doesn't feel the same."

 

"Weird. I would have thought the Capitol would have everything."

 

"I guess they don't."

 

"So now what?"

 

"Now we go back to my house and we surprise my mother and then go out to the Meadow and have a picnic."

 

"Sounds like a plan!"

 

**oOo**

 

The next day I get a big surprise. A train from the Capitol arrives and on it are Mr. and Mrs. Mellark along with their two sons, Bing and Farl.

 

The Mellarks are back in District Twelve. So where's Katniss?

 

**oOo**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:  
> Written: 11/7/14  
> Revised: 11/11/14  
> Beta Read by: RoseFyre
> 
> Happy Veteran's Day!
> 
> I know this didn't cover what a lot of you wanted to read about, but it's setting up things for both the rest of Forgotten and for Participant. I tend to favor slow builds so when I reach the crisis point you know where we came from and why people are reacting the way they are. 
> 
> I have a bit of a meta up on my tumblr (fanficallergy) about Tesserae, Victor's Rations, and District Rations. I figured I didn't need to bog down my authors notes with my ramblings.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! I should, barring catastrophe, have the next chapter out in a week.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This is Gale's side story which takes place in the same universe and runs concurrently to my story "Spectator." You will likely want to read that fic first since I will be making reference to the events that take place in it. This chapter takes place during the events of Chapters 34 through 36.

**oOo**

 

**Chapter Eight**

 

Where are Katniss and Violet Everdeen?

 

That's the main question on everyone's lips.

 

The Mellarks all have the same answers to that and other questions. The Everdeens are still in the Capitol. No, they don't know why. No, they don't know why they were sent back. No, they haven't seen Peeta. The Capitol was very nice. The food was excellent. Caesar Flickerman's teeth are even whiter in person.

 

And on and on.

 

I'm able to hear most of the responses as soon as they're answered since I'm accompanying the Mayor to welcome them home. I can see that Mrs. Mellark is slowly losing patience with the crowd and that Bing, their oldest son, is distracted and clearly looking for someone.

 

Finally someone notices the Mayor standing there and starts calling for the crowd to make way. I'm grateful to the man since I'm hoping to hear more about Katniss.

 

"Matz! Muffy! It's good to see you and your family back in Twelve!" the Mayor greets them with a smile. "Things haven't been the same without you here! I think everyone would like to hear about your adventures in the Capitol-"

 

"I don't know why!" Mrs. Mellark interrupts with a huff. "The whole experience was absolutely dreadful and I never want to go through that kind of shame and degradation again!"

 

I don't wonder why the Mellarks were sent home so soon after the Games anymore. Whoever was minding them in the Capitol probably got sick of dealing with Mrs. Mellark's tongue.

 

"Now, dear, it wasn't that bad," the baker tries to soothe.

 

But his wife is having none of it. "Not that bad? Not that bad! It was horrid. Awful! Absolutely ghastly! I never want to set foot there again as long as I live! The citizens are absolute morons without a speck of taste, decency, or sense. Why they think the Everdeens are as sweet and as lovely as flowers! They can't see just how grubby and deplorable those Seam trash really are!"

 

"Mother..."

 

"Don't you 'Mother' me, Bing Mellark! You know I'm right! That older Everdeen girl is nothing but a harlot who seduced my dear, sweet, innocent baby boy!"

 

At her words I can feel my blood start to boil and I know if I don't get out of Mrs. Mellark's presence I'm going to do something I might regret later, like punching her in the mouth.

 

"Orville," I lean forward to whisper in the Mayor's ear. "I think I should go check on the train to see if there's any other surprises on board."

 

"Good idea, Gale," he murmurs back. "I'll do my best to diffuse the situation before Muffy's ill-advised words are overheard by the wrong ears."

 

I try to make my escape but the baker stops me. "Gale!" He glances at his wife and then walks over to me. He motions for me to lean down so he can speak without being overheard. "Do you think I might be able to request a squirrel or two from you? The Capitol food is delicious, don't get me wrong, but I'm really craving something that tastes like home. I can pay extra."

 

I think about it for a moment then say, "Yeah, I can do that. It's not going to be until Saturday though. I've got work during the week now." There's no need for me to tell him that I have my mornings off because I tend to stick to trapping and fishing during the week because it's quicker and less bloody.

 

"That's fine," he tells me. "I've got to get the bakery back up and running. We left in such a hurry, I'm sure there's a huge mess to clean up and I won't be able to pay you until we get the ovens going again."

 

I nod and bid him goodbye, citing a fictitious errand. I've had just about enough of the Mellarks.

 

**oOo**

 

Three days later, we get the first hint that there's trouble brewing in Panem.

 

Orville receives a call informing him that our power, already off more than it's on in the Seam, is going to be curtailed even more. Even merchants and Peacekeepers will be feeling the hardship. A damaged generator coupled with a drier than usual year in Five is what he's told. I'm not sure I believe it.

 

Additionally, because of the shortages, television screens may not turn on for Mandatory Viewing every day. Instead, on those 'brown out days' everyone will be required to go to one of three communal broadcast locations, the square in front of the Justice Building, the school cafeteria, or the Cumberland Mine mess hall. There, they'll need to sign in with Peacekeepers on duty indicating that they were present for any and all required viewings.  

 

Orville tries to work out a way to notify everyone in Twelve of the changes and to make all of the proper arrangements. And his other two assistants Ronnie Milliner and Carrick Hatfield and myself are forced to run ragged trying to coordinate everything. For the first time since I started working for him, I understand what being on-call means.

 

The Victory Ceremony is tomorrow and it's required that all of Panem watch the three hour event. District Twelve only has a little over eight thousand citizens, but it's almost impossible to make all of the arrangements for screens, chairs, and speakers. The Reaping Day ceremonies take a week to set up. We have a little less than twenty four hours to make this happen.

 

I don't go to bed that Thursday until midnight and am up again at four. I have to help Ronnie set up the Reaping Day screens in the mess hall while Carrick and Orville negotiate with Cray to be lenient on stragglers. The change is going to take time to communicate and some people may not get the message right away. Orville's got Madge, Delly, Rory and Vick out posting notices on each household's door but there's no guaranteeing that they'll get read in time.

 

The whole thing is a mess.

 

By the time the recap rolls around, I'm about ready to drop. But I can't, each of us have our stations to make sure that everyone's present and accounted for. The Mayor and Ronnie are stationed in the town square since it's the largest location. Carrick's at the school while I have the mine.

 

The mess hall is an old coal dust blackened structure that's long and thin with several long tables lined up along the walls. There's a screen and speakers that we've set up at one end and a small table and chair for me to check people off as they come in.

 

People start showing up early, around five, and soon there's a line going around the building. I struggle to keep up with the influx of people but it's chaos. I have a list with eight thousand names on it, there is no way to find one name in that many quickly. Madge comes by at five thirty with a couple of sandwiches and a thermos of tea. I am so relieved to see her.

 

I split the list with her, giving her the first part of the alphabet and the process goes smoother but it's still woefully inefficient. We're still checking people in when Mandatory Viewing starts.

 

I'm grateful that I'm in the back of the hall away from the speakers, because Caesar Flickerman is in rare form tonight. He's so effusive and excited that I can't stand it. All I want to do is get something to eat and go to bed. And I'm willing to just skip to the latter.

 

Handing my list to Madge, I stand up to count how many people are left in line. Twenty three. "Do you think you can handle the rest and any stragglers?" I ask her, sitting back down in my chair.

 

"Yeah, eat your dinner. I've got this."

 

I don't need to be told twice. I slip out of my chair and lean against the wall, stretching my legs out in front of me. I am so tired. I can eat later. Nothing interesting happens until the end of the recap anyway.

 

With that in mind, I fall asleep to the sound of Caesar Flickerman introducing the winning stylists.

 

**oOo**

 

"I still can't believe you slept through Peeta's proposal!"

 

"Will you shut up about that!"

 

It's Saturday morning and Madge and I are out in the woods. I need to get the squirrels I promised the baker and I want to try to get some fresh meat for my family. I've got a hunch that I'm going to be busy at work for the foreseeable future and I don't want to start hitting up my family's winter stores if I can avoid it.

 

"You've got to admit," she continues. "It's pretty funny." She bumps me on the shoulder affectionately.   "Everyone turned around to see your reaction to the news and there you were, snoring away, blissfully unaware of it all."

 

The picture she paints is pretty amusing, if I weren't the butt of the joke. I grumble but don't reply. There's really nothing I can say.

 

"Seriously, though," she says, her tone changing from playful to concerned, "how are you handling the news?"

 

"I'm handling it."

 

"Uh-huh." Her tone is flat. "Clearly you are the paragon of noble suffering and unrequited love and you shall mourn your true love marrying another nobly and silently for the rest of your days."

 

I turn to face her. "Will you stop that! You're making me sound like the hero from one of those stupid Capitol dramas!"

 

"Give me a straight answer and I will," she counters.

 

I stop, sitting down on a fallen tree. "Fine. I'm not happy about it but I can't say I didn't expect it." I look up at her. "You've been preparing me for this from the moment the Capitol took Katniss away."

 

"Okay, better," she says, sitting down next to me. "But there's more to it, isn't there?"

 

"Yeah. As much as I'm upset that Katniss is marrying him, I kind of feel sorry for Mellark."

 

"Oh?"

 

"I mean, how messed up is that?" I lean back and stare up at the summer sky through the canopy of leaves overhead. "This merchant boy gets to marry my girl and claim my kid as his own and I'm feeling sorry for him."

 

"It's not what I was expecting, I'll say that much." She pauses. "Why do you feel sorry for him?"

 

"Because Katniss doesn't want to get married. To anyone. I've finally figured that out." I scrubbed my face with my hand. "It's messed up that the moment I stop pressuring her to marry me, the Capitol goes and forces her into an arranged marriage with Mellark. She's gonna resent the hell out of him. He can be the best guy in the world, hell, he might be, but she's gonna hate that she's married to him."

 

"Ah." Madge bumps my shoulder. "Yeah. That might be a problem."

 

"Yeah." I stand up and brush off my hands before extending one out to her. "We should get going. The day's not going to last forever and I want to check the strawberry patch again."

 

Her face lights up as she takes my hand. "Did you say strawberries?"

  
"Yep!"

 

"Lead the way!"

 

**oOo**

 

The news continues to get worse as the week goes on. On Sunday, I get called into the office.

 

There has been an incident in District Eight: insurgents have destroyed one of the textile factories there, killing several people including some from the Capitol. The general public can't know the truth, but the effects are going to be felt. Especially here in Twelve. Apparently Eight borders Twelve and there's concerns that the rebellion will spread here. Particularly considering that the figurehead, Peeta Mellark, hails from here. Orville will have to do something to reassure the Capitol that rebellion won't ignite the district and he's looking for ideas. Which is why Ronnie, Carrick and I are called in.

 

"We could have the school kids perform a reenactment of the Dark Days. I think there's some Capitol approved plays we could use," Carrick suggests.

 

Orville nods. "It's an idea. Any others?"

 

"Just what kind of gesture is the Capitol looking for?" I ask. "I mean, if it were me, I'd want to see happy, content people. Happy people don't rebel. Downtrodden ones do."

 

"That's a good point. So how do we show the Capitol that we're happy with them?"

 

I consider it. "People were excited when Peeta and Prim won. They're still excited. I hear there's been a whole slew of new marriages that the clerks at the Justice Building are getting backed up and the baker's starting to run low on toasting bread. People are looking forward to the first shipment of supplies, which come from the Capitol. I think if we request a camera crew to come out at the same time, it'd go a long way to showing just how content District Twelve's populace is and how unlikely we are to rebel."

 

"I like it," the Mayor says with a smile. "And it puts the burden of proof on them. We don't have television cameras to document this and if they try to short the shipment it'd lead to just what they don't want, a riot."

 

"Are they going to short the shipment?" Ronnie wants to know. He's younger than Carrick and has three small children and a sick wife who can't work. He's probably relying on the supplies to help him make it through the year.

 

"There's been talk of it," the Mayor admits. "In addition to food, they typically include a few yards of cloth. Now, with the problems in Eight, that cloth might not be included."

 

"It wouldn't be the end of the world if we didn't get the cloth," Carrick points out. "Most of us don't remember what's typically in the provisions since it's been so long since we've gotten them. The food is what most of our people are looking forward to not some of the Capitol's castoff fabric."

 

"That's true. But I'd rather not let them start shorting us," Orville says. "It creates a dangerous precedent."

 

"Oh," Carrick says. It's all that really needs to be said.

 

Things get worse on Tuesday night. One of our other neighboring districts, Eleven, had a riot that morning. It happened when the bodies of their two tributes were being interred in the tributes' graveyard. The father of the female tribute, Rue, attacked District Eleven's Escort when the man said something, I'm not sure what.   The riot spread across the gathering, with people attacking Peacekeepers and anyone affiliated with the Capitol.

 

The riot was put down quickly but not without casualties. Rue's father, District Eleven's Escort, and five other people including a five year old boy who was trampled in the commotion are all dead and there are hundreds more that are injured.

 

Again, this news isn't to be shared with the general public for fear the sentiment would spread. I can't help but feel sorry for Rue's family, they'd already lost a daughter and sister and now they've lost a husband and father.  

 

Still, part of me is excited. I've wanted for so long to rebel against the system that forced me to become a man at the age of thirteen. That led to my father's death because of unsafe work conditions. That required me to increase my chance of death in a blood sport for the Capitol's amusement just to make sure my family didn't starve to death.

 

I've long thought about just running away. Slipping under the fence one day and never coming back. And I would have if I didn't have my family to consider. It's still a dream of mine to live without the rules and restrictions that the Capitol has placed on us. To never have my siblings or child know the fear of being Reaped and then sent off to the slaughter on national television.

 

But now that I work for the Mayor, I can see just how difficult pulling off a rebellion here in Twelve would be. We are the smallest district and, worse, we're the least important district to the Capitol. Most of the coal we produce is sent to other districts to power their industries or heat their houses. Six gets the majority of the coal we mine since they produce the majority of Panem's steel, followed by Eight and Eleven to power their factories and greenhouses. Four surprisingly gets the next most, I suspect for their fishing fleet. Some of the coal stays in Twelve to heat our homes and power our ancient generators. The Capitol gets almost none.

 

What's even more disturbing is when I see the census numbers for the last fifty years. Twelve is shrinking. People are dying faster than they're giving birth and even scarier the average life expectancy is only forty five. Starvation, disease, and the Games have been eating away at our population and nothing is being done about it.

 

Because the Capitol doesn't care. In their eyes, we're almost unnecessary and they wouldn't care if our entire district was wiped off of the map like Thirteen was. It wouldn't affect their lives or their comforts, at least not permanently.

 

Rebellion would be suicide. Unlike Five, Eight, and Eleven, the Capitol doesn't rely on us. They'd just wipe us out and move on to their next amusement.

 

Now I understand why Orville is so insistent that we placate our oppressors. We have so much more to lose than other districts. Most districts, if they rebel, will get stricter punishments, harsher restrictions, and more Peacekeepers stationed there. A few people could lose their lives. We could lose our whole district.

 

**oOo**

 

Because of the stress of this week and the previous one, I ask the Mayor if I can have Thursday off. It's the last day before the new Head Peacekeeper is supposed to arrive and I'd like to spend it in the woods.

 

I don't know when I'll be able go back under the fence after the new head arrives. I have to admit I'm worried. Especially since two of our neighboring districts have been revolting. I suspect that this new head is going to be less lenient than Cray. It's almost a given. Cray only enforced the laws when he had to, if he or one of his people didn't see it or if someone didn't report it to him officially he didn't care. In fact, he broke just as many laws as he enforced. There's no way that's going to continue.   We need to do something to get on the head's side early. I don't know what.

 

As she had before Panem went to hell, Madge meets me at my house with breakfast: flaky crescent rolls with bacon, egg and cheese inside.

 

"I stopped by the bakery," she explains as she pulls them out. "I've missed Mr. Mellark's experiments."

 

I take a bite and the roll is delicious. "I can see why. I could get used to eating these. Does he experiment often?"

 

"As much as his wife lets him," she says with a smile. "I'll let him know you like them." She hands me another then puts the bag on the kitchen counter. "I bought enough for everyone."

 

"You didn't have to." She knows I don't like charity even now.

 

"I know I didn't, but I wanted to." She looks over at me. "I also brought stuff for lunch so we can spend all day out in the woods if you want."

 

It's very thoughtful of her. She knows the woods are my sanctuary and my salvation. I'm grateful for everything she and her father have done for me, but I'm still not comfortable with the role I've been thrust into. It's better than the mines, but that doesn't mean it isn't a tough job in and of itself.

 

"We should go," I say. "I want to set up the nets and snares, then go berry picking."

 

"Strawberries?" she asks, her eyes bright.

 

"We'll see. My mother wants to make preserves for the winter and berries make good preserves."

 

We grab our gear and get on our way. The day is grey and overcast which is great for hunting but not as good for foraging. Still, it's been a relatively dry summer and our gardens can use the rain. I just hope it holds off until the afternoon.

 

We slip under the fence and into the woods. There we split up, Madge to set out the nets and me to set the snares and retrieve my bow. We meet back up at the rocky overhang with the blackberry bushes that used to be Katniss's and my spot.

 

It's getting toward the end of the blackberry season, but the bushes are still covered in berries, attracting birds of all shapes and sizes. I take advantage of this to bag a turkey and a pheasant but I miss the wild chicken. I'm still not as good of a shot as Katniss is, but with this many targets I don't need to be.

 

I field dress the birds while waiting for Madge to join me. When she does, I leap to my feet in surprise. With her are three people: a man, woman and teenage girl. Probably a family, and from their clothing and appearance, definitely not from Twelve.

 

"What's this?" I ask, my eyes trained on the three behind her.

 

"What's it look like?" Madge shoots back. "They're refugees from Eight."

 

My eyes narrow, taking in the three's appearance. They're travel stained and starving, but the woman's dark eyes are bright with hope. The man is carrying a pack, probably of supplies, and the teenager looks about ready to drop.   "Why'd you bring them here?"

 

"Where would you have liked me to take them? Into town?" Madge rolls her eyes. "They surprised me when I was setting out the nets. I didn't have a choice."

 

The man steps forward. "I'm sorry to put you in danger like this. My name's Miller Paylor and this is my wife, Patina, and my daughter, Taylor." The man is paler than me with light blue eyes and sandy blonde hair.

 

I see Madge's lips twitch at the daughter's name but she manages to keep her amusement mostly concealed.

 

"What are you doing out here?" I ask.

 

"We could ask the same of you," the woman shoots back. Her skin is darker than mine, but her hair, what little I can see peeking out from under the cloth she wears over it, is brown.

 

"What does it look like?" I ask, pointing to the berries. "We're gathering food."

 

The woman lifts her chin. "We're doing the same."

 

"This far from Eight?" I can't keep the incredulousness out of my tone. "Try again."

 

"We're trying to get to Thirteen," the girl says. She's a pure mix of her two parents with skin the color of milk flavored tea and light brown hair and her mother's eyes.

 

"Thirteen's destroyed," Madge says. "We've seen the films."

 

"The films are all repeats of the same shot," Patina tells us. "Sure, they use different reporters, but it's all the same shot."

 

"How do you know?" Madge's voice is intent.

 

"Toward the end of the loop, you can see the same mockingjay flying out of the shot. It's always in the same place and at the same time," she answers. "A lot of us think it's because the Capitol can't go to Thirteen and the only reason they couldn't is if Thirteen still exists and has been in hiding this whole time."

 

"And you're just going to walk there?" I ask.

 

"Unless you've got a hovercraft we can borrow, yeah, we are," Miller answers. "We can't stay in Eight. The Capitol's after Patina for the bombing of the silk factory."

 

"Did you do it?" Madge asks.

 

"You're better off not knowing the answer to that." That means that yes, she was one of the people responsible.

 

I shake my head. These people are suicidal or nuts or both.

 

"Look, we don't want to be any trouble," the man begins.

 

I don't let him finish. "Then you should go. Twelve's in enough hot water because of the Games this year. We don't need more. If word got out that we were helping fugitives, it wouldn't be good for us."

 

Miller makes a face but nods.

 

Patina is far less understanding. "It's sentiment like that that keeps you under the Capitol's thumb!"

 

I glare at her. "You think I don't know that? But I've got a family to keep alive and I'm not gonna be able to do that if I'm dead or my district is destroyed because we pissed off the wrong people. Twelve isn't as important as Eight, so until the rebellion can keep us safe, I'm gonna look out for me and mine."

 

Patina seems stunned and frankly so does Madge. I'm not going to back down though. The man I used to be, the man who didn't see the big picture, might have been eager to help or join the rebels. But now I know just what I have to lose and the risk isn't worth the reward. Not now at least.

 

I sigh. "Look, I don't mean to judge. You've got to do what you've got to do. I get that." I look over at Madge. "We can give you the food we brought for lunch and I can give you one of the fish from our nets and you're welcome to follow us around while we gather food. But other than that, you're on your own and if you get caught you don't know us. Got it?"

 

The Paylors share a look, communicating silently with each other in the way that long married couples do. "Got it," Patina says after a moment.

 

"Good."

 

Madge fishes out the food she brought for lunch: four jam sandwiches, a hunk of cheese, and two apples, and hands it to Taylor.

 

The girl gives it to her father who takes one of the sandwiches and divides it up into thirds before distributing the pieces to his family. The rest he wraps up and shoves into his pack.   Smart.  

 

The family follows Madge and me, staying out of the clearings and keeping to the woods. They don't try to engage me in conversation, which suits me just fine.   I'm already guilty of aiding and abetting a wanted felon, I don't want to add to the charges already against me.

 

Madge, on the other hand, keeps drifting back to talk with Patina and Taylor. I want to tell her that it's a bad idea, but I can't. By all rights, she shouldn't have spoken to either me or Katniss and she has. Madge, I guess, just has a thing for seeking out people who others would shun.

 

Still, the rest of my day is ruined. The stress of having three fugitives following me around keeps me from enjoying the day as much as I would have. And to make it worse, around eleven, the sky opens up into a cold downpour.  

 

That's the last straw. I signal that it's time to go check the snares and nets. I don't want to get caught on the other side of the fence in the rain if for some reason the power decides it wants to come on.

 

There isn't a lot in my snares, we weren't out long enough and the weather didn't cooperate, so there's only one rabbit. The nets fare better, with three trout and two carp. I give the carp to the Paylors, deciding at the last minute to be generous. Then I lead them back to the blackberry cave.

 

"You can stay here until the weather clears. I wouldn't try to come into town," I caution. "Our new Head Peacekeeper is arriving tomorrow and I just bet they'd love to make an example for all of Panem if they caught you."

 

Patina inclines her head to indicate she understands. "Thanks."

 

"Look, I hope you're right about Thirteen."

 

Miller smiles. "I hope so too. Otherwise it's going to be one hell of a walk for nothing."

 

Madge holds out her hand. "Good luck. I hope you make it."

 

There isn't anything more to say and so we leave the Paylors at the cave and make our way back to Twelve.

 

I hope I never see them again.

 

**oOo**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:  
> Written: 11/10/14  
> Revised: 11/12/14  
> Beta read by Rosefyre
> 
> So there's been an encounter in the woods and it's not Bonnie and Twill. I decided to go with Commander Paylor and her family because she had to escape at some point and join up with Thirteen and it needed to be pretty early on. 
> 
> Gale has changed a lot from the hothead that he was in the books. That's almost entirely due to the fact that he's now seeing what's going on behind the scenes and the giant chip on his shoulder got knocked off. In a very real way, Gale's going through just as many changes to his character as Katniss and Peeta are. But those changes aren't coming easily and because he's too close to some things, he needs someone to guide him. 
> 
> Okay, geology lesson time. At our current rate of consumption, the world's natural gas reserves will be gone in about 45 years, the oil reserves (and this includes oil shale) in 45-60 years, and coal in 225-275 years. So of the fossil fuels, only coal stands any likelihood of still being around. Most likely everything else will be gone within our lifetime. Think about that and think about how it takes millions of years to create oil and gas and coal. Even if the Cataclysm that created the world of Panem takes place tomorrow, the dwindling supplies are still a reality and it's also a reality that the majority of crude oil is not located in North America. There's also a very real chance that said Cataclysm was likely caused by the very real struggle over who controls these very dear natural resources. Wars break out over natural resources all the time, even today. 
> 
> So no matter what happens, the dependency on a non-renewable resource like coal is just bad planning, even with a small population like Panem. So I suspect that Five, who is in charge of power in the books, mostly concentrates on hydroelectric, solar, wind and nuclear energy. Which is why I place Five in the southwest of the United States and part of northern Mexico. Those areas have the facilities in place and the natural resources and weather to power Panem. But it also means they're the farthest away from District Twelve and District Eight. So coal is used to power those districts and in other industrial processes. The districts closer to the Capitol and the Capitol itself are all powered by Five. Which is why the rebellion being in Five is going to be a big deal. 
> 
> ... I really need to publish the map of my head canon...


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This is Gale's side story which takes place in the same universe and runs concurrently to my story "Spectator." You will likely want to read that fic first since I will be making reference to the events that take place in it. This chapter takes place during some of the events of Chapter 36.

**oOo**

 

**Chapter Nine**

 

**oOo**

 

Tomorrow comes and with it a whole flurry of activity. The train carrying both the new Head Peacekeeper and the district rations arrives at noon and there's a lot to do before then.

 

Carrick had the idea of holding a little ceremony at the train station to welcome the new Head, as well as saying goodbye to Cray, might go over well with the Capitol. Ronnie's daughter, Merdie, and my sister, Posy, are both conscripted to play a role in the ceremony. They're to present flowers to both Cray and the new Head and just be overall adorable.

 

It's a little strange seeing Posy in a faded blue hand me down dress from the Everdeens next to Merdie in her pretty pink dress that looks brand new. But the girls don't seem to notice the difference and are instead crouched down together with Madge discussing the merits of which flowers make the best chains and crowns. Rory and Vick have a whole basketful of flowers from the Meadow and the three girls are making them into bouquets trimmed with ribbons.

 

As though she feels me watching, Madge looks up and meets my eyes. She tilts her head to one side as if to ask me what's wrong.

 

I shake my head. Nothing.

 

She smiles and turns to answer one of Merdie's questions.

 

I tear myself away from watching the three to focus on what needs to be completed. Ronnie is overseeing the erection of a stage just outside the train station while Carrick and the Mayor are finishing up some last minute paperwork in the Justice Building, something about making sure all the I's are dotted and T's are crossed. The camera crew from the Capitol that the Mayor requested is setting up and I wander over to introduce myself to them. They arrived yesterday on the train sent to collect the monthly coal quota while I was out in the woods with Madge.

 

There's only four of them. A dark skinned man with several facial tattoos is manning one of the cameras, he gives me a terse nod but doesn't say anything. Next to him is the sound tech, a thin woman with feather eyelashes and heavy makeup. She introduces herself as Calla Watson and the cameraman as Virgil Rangi. He's an avox, she explains, they cut out his tongue when he was a teen when his family was arrested for treason twenty years ago. He's now a free citizen of the Capitol, having proved his loyalty, but because of his punishment and history there aren't a lot of places he can work. But the propaganda and broadcasting ministries prefer to employ avoxes as cameramen, technicians, and stagehands because they can't talk.  

 

I try to keep the horror off of my face as Calla tells me this very matter-of-factly.

 

The reporter introduces herself next as Vittoria Hanks. She's young, maybe a year or two older than me, with long curly hair that is somehow dyed every color of the rainbow. When Posy first saw her, I had to stop her from running up to the woman and demanding to play with her hair. Up close, it's even more impressive, but other than her hair, the woman herself is unremarkable.

 

The final member of the group is the director, Jessalla Mercy. I'm a little surprised when I meet her because she's the least Capitol-like Capitolite I've ever met. Unlike most people I've seen from the Capitol, Jessalla's stocky with no odd enhancements or strangely dyed hair. Her short, no nonsense hair is iron grey. The only indication that she's from the Capitol are several tattoos peeking out from the edges of her clothing and a small silver chain running from her left nostril up to her left ear.

 

Jessalla tells me that the Ministry of Propaganda likes our idea of welcoming the new Peacekeepers and that if this goes well, our district will be held up as an example of a model district.

 

I try to keep my distaste for this off of my face. I don't want to placate the Capitol. I hate them. I would rather rebel, but common sense tells me now isn't the time.

 

I'm saved from having to interact with the group too much when Carrick comes over to join us. He tells me that Orville needs to see me, so I say goodbye to everyone and make my escape.

 

I find Orville in his office in the Justice Building.

 

"Whatcha need, boss?"

 

He raises an eyebrow at my casual tone, but doesn't comment on it. Instead, he hands me a stack of bright pink papers.   "I need you to take these permits and hand them out to the merchants in the Hob."

 

"Why?"

 

"Remember what we talked about earlier? About making the vendors in the Hob temporary merchants?"

 

I do. I mentioned it to Sae and she liked the idea. But I didn't think we'd be using them so soon. "Why now?"

 

Orville just shoots me a look that is so reminiscent of Madge's exasperated expression that I chuckle. Now I know where she gets it from. Still, it reminds me that July's going to be a tough month with both the new Head and the fact that we didn't make quota last month because of the Games. We're going to need all the vendors in Twelve to be on board with keeping the prices down. This coming month will hopefully not be as dire since we're getting district rations today, but I still don't know how that's going to be handled.

 

So I ask.

 

"I'm hoping that the new Head'll have an idea, but I suspect that we're going to have to handle it like tesserae."

 

I make a face. "Not everyone's going to be able to haul away that much food. What about having the supplies delivered?"

 

"How? And who?" he shoots back.

 

I think about all of the empty mine carts up at the train station from where they left yesterday and I get an idea. "How about we let people rent a mine cart? There's hundreds of 'em and if people don't need them they don't need to rent them."

 

"How much should we charge?" he asks.

 

I look at the stack of papers in my hands. "How much do these permits cost?"

 

"Ten coin a month."

 

I've got about twenty permits in my hands. Two hundred coin.

 

"How about a chit?" I suggest. It's not too expensive, only one tenth of a coin, and only the most desperate will turn it down. "We could even waive the fee for those people who are willing to help load up the carts and make sure that the carts end up back at the mines."

 

"It's an idea. I'll talk it over with the new Head. I'm sure they might have an idea of how they want to handle things and I don't want to step on toes if I can avoid it."

 

I shake the permits in my hands. "I should get these to the Hob. I'll meet back up with you later."

 

"By eleven," he says. It's an order.

 

I nod.

 

**oOo**

 

My errand to the Hob is taken care of quickly. Apparently Sae has been in communication with the Mayor and knew that the permits were on their way. She's even forced many of her fellow vendors to pay part of the permit cost. She understands the importance of legitimacy until we know this new Head Peacekeeper better. The last thing she and the other Hob merchants want is to be shut down or, worse, arrested.

 

They won't pay the full amount, but most of them manage to come up with five coin to help offset the personal cost to the Mayor. It also makes them feel like they're not taking charity. We can also use this to show the regular merchants that we're not giving the Hob vendors something for free.

 

I know Orville wants to show the people at the Hob that being legitimate is going to be safer and more profitable in the long run, but it's going to take time. And, I suspect, fear.

 

There aren't enough permits for all of the vendors, so many of them push their tables and booths together and form temporary alliances in order to stay open. It's surprising to see this teamwork.

 

I head back to town, stopping briefly at the bakery to pick up something for lunch for Madge, Posy, and myself. They don't have any of the stuffed crescent rolls, so I settle for several cheese buns and a cookie for Posy. It'll have to do.

 

When I get back, Posy, Merdie, and Madge have finished making the bouquets and have also constructed flower crowns that the two girls are now wearing. I give the girls the food I bought, feeling bad that I didn't get anything for Merdie.

 

Madge notices and gives the little girl one of her cheese buns while Posy breaks her cookie in half to share with Merdie. I'm wondering if I'm watching the start of another Merchant/Town friendship and part of me hopes so.

 

The Mayor and Carrick join us ten minutes later, followed by Cray and the rest of the Peacekeeper force. The train is almost here.

 

The rest of Twelve wanders into the square and I can see Jessalla motioning for Virgil to pan across the crowd. Beside her, Vittoria is speaking excitedly into a microphone but I can't hear what she's saying. I take my place behind the Mayor with the rest of his assistants while Madge moves to stand next to her father. Her mother, Maribelle, is at home with one of her infamous migraines. In front of Madge and the Mayor, Posy and Merdie fidget nervously.

 

There's nothing to do now but wait.

 

The train pulls into the station and screeches to a stop.

 

Several minutes pass before the door slides open.

 

Beside me, Ronnie motions for the crowd to start clapping and cheering. They do, although I suspect it's because of the long line of boxcars which hold the district rations rather than the new Head Peacekeeper.

 

A few seconds later a short, slender woman dressed in Peacekeeper White steps out. She's holding her helmet in her hands, and I can see she's about the same age as my mother. For some reason she looks familiar, but I can't for the life of me figure out why. Other than her height, which is shorter than most Peacekeepers I've seen, there's very little remarkable about her. She's got brown hair carefully pulled back into a no-nonsense bun and dark brown eyes. Her skin is tanned from the sun and there's a smattering of freckles across her nose.  

 

Madge nudges Posy and Merdie forward. This is their moment to shine in this farce of a welcoming ceremony.

 

"Madame Peacekeeper," Posy lisps, holding up her bouquet. "We brung you these flowers to welcome you to District Twelve."

 

Merdie holds her bouquet up and finishes, "We hope you feel at home and your time here is as sweet as the buckets we offer you."

 

A slight flicker of confusion crosses the woman's face at Merdie's malapropism, but then a small smile ghosts across her lips and she reaches down to take the two bouquets. "Thank you, dears. I don't think I've ever had such a warm welcome." She stands back up, her eyes assessing.

 

Orville steps forward. "I'm glad we could do our part to make your coming here a little more pleasant. I'm the Mayor of District Twelve, Orville Undersee." He motions to Madge. "And this is my daughter, Madge."

 

"I'm Captain Moira Miner, recently from District Nine. I hope to have a successful professional relationship with you and your district."

 

"I hope for the same, Captain Miner."

 

The rest of the ceremony goes smoothly. A few people come out and sing patriotic songs, Captain Miner is introduced to several of the community leaders: Greasy Sae, Rooba, Mine Foreman Micah Rowe, and Matz Mellark. The last gets a reaction that has me a bit confused. Mr. Mellark is one of the nicest people in the district, he's done nothing to raise Moira Miner's antipathy.

 

After the ceremony, the Mayor approaches the woman. "I hope that you enjoyed your welcome."

 

The woman inclines her head. "I did," she says brusquely. "Now, I'm certain we have business to attend to and I will need to spend the next month familiarizing myself with this district before Commander Cray retires."

 

I notice that Cray doesn't have the same rank as the new Head, I wonder what the difference is and if Cray has a higher or lower rank. I suspect lower.

 

"I completely understand, Captain Miner." Orville pauses for effect. "I was wondering, assuming you aren't too busy, if you and Commander Cray would be good enough to join me for dinner tonight with my family and three assistants?"

 

The woman considers this for a few moments, studying the Mayor and Madge before saying, "That sounds lovely."

 

"Excellent!" The Mayor sounds enthusiastic even though I know he's not. "Now, please allow my assistant, Carrick, to escort your things to your new house while we discuss a few more pressing matters."

 

She waves a hand indicating this is acceptable and Carrick scurries off. She watches him go before turning back to the Mayor. "More pressing matters?" she asks, her voice stern.

 

"I wanted to solicit your and Commander Cray's opinions regarding the distribution of the district rations," Orville broaches the subject many of us have on our minds. "We have had a hard year and I know there are some people who have been looking forward to these supplies and I know the Capitol only wants the best for its citizens."

 

Captain Miner inclines her head. "Go on."

 

"I was wondering if you would be amenable to setting up a temporary distribution center here, at the train station, manned by a combined team of my assistant Ronnie and a few of the more long term Peacekeepers. That way they can assure that no one tries to take more than their share."

 

"They'd better not," the woman says, her eyes narrowing.  

 

"I don't believe any of my people would make the attempt. Still, it's better to be prepared, don't you think?" Orville asks conversationally.

 

She nods. "If Commander Cray can suggest the names of a few of his men, I believe this could be arranged."

 

"Splendid!" he exclaims before continuing. "Additionally, my assistant, Gale, raised the concern that some people might not have the means to transport the goods to their houses. Some people might be too old or infirm or have other hardships that could give them difficulty. He suggested that we attack the problem in a very interesting way. We could allow those households without a means of transporting their provisions to pay for the use of one of the mining carts over there," he motions toward the end of the rail yard where several coal covered carts are scattered about. "When they've transported the goods, they can return the carts to the mine."

 

"How much would the rental cost?"

 

"One chit."

 

"That seems a little low," she observes.

 

I step forward. "We priced it low for a reason, sir. That way more people will use the service and the miners won't have to go retrieve the carts on the Capitol's dime."

 

The woman purses her lips as she considers the idea. "So what you're saying is that you're trying to save the Capitol money."

 

"And effort, sir," I add. "The Mayor tells me that the last time we received district rations, Peacekeepers delivered them personally to each household. That seems to be a poor use of valuable Peacekeeper time."

 

"So considerate Mister..." she trails off, clearly asking for me to fill in the blank.

 

"Hawthorne, sir. Gale Hawthorne."

 

She acknowledges my response with a curt jerk of her head. "We can give this idea a try, Mr. Hawthorne. If it works, it will be continued for the rest of the year. However, if it is a failure..." she trails off, implying that I'll be the one to pay for the lack of success.

 

"I understand," I tell her. And I do. I suspect the repercussions will not be pleasant, but I think my idea is a good one and I'm willing to stand by it.

 

"Cray," she barks. "I will leave this in your hands while I get settled." She turns back to the Mayor. "I look forward to hearing how this experiment worked tonight at dinner."

 

"Of course, Captain Miner. It would be my pleasure."

 

**oOo**

 

Dinner goes well that night, even though I spend most of the night following Madge's lead regarding etiquette. There's more utensils than I'm used to and I'm not comfortable with the formality. Everyone's in their best clothes which considering the tomato based soup and gravy soaked roast has me concerned that I'm going to be going home with stained clothing. I suppose it's a good thing that my mother's a laundress.

 

I'd been worried that my idea regarding the mine carts wouldn't work out. But it was a clear success. Most people in the Seam, anxious to get their district rations, took advantage of the service and even some merchants used the carts because their own handcarts weren't big enough to hold everything.

 

The money went back into the district coffers and will be used to pay for a small team of men to deliver the remaining goods to the households who couldn't or wouldn't collect their rations themselves.   At Captain Miner's suggestion, a small fee, one of the tins of meat, will be assessed out of their rations to encourage people to get their own supplies. The loss is major enough that those people who were too cheap or lazy to get their own supplies will feel the loss. The cans themselves will go to the community home to supplement the orphanage's rations.

 

Other than discussing the success of my idea, most of the conversation over dinner is inconsequential. Captain Miner was stationed in Nine prior to coming to Twelve and Cray has reached the end of his tour of duty so is going home to get married and start a family.   This surprises me a bit, since we marry young in Twelve and Cray has to be old enough to be my father.

 

We finish up and Madge offers to walk home with me, claiming she wants to check on the Everdeens' house and take care of Lady. Something that I know is a lie.

 

When we get out of earshot of her house, I ask, "What's up?"

 

In true Madge fashion she answers my question with one of her own. "Did you notice how Captain Miner didn't talk about her family tonight?"

 

I had, it struck me as odd but I hadn't wanted to bring it up. "Yeah. So? What's that got to do with anything?"

 

She still doesn't give me an answer. "Doesn't she look at all familiar?"

 

"Yeah, she does," I admit. "I'm not sure from where though. Stop giving me the run around and spit it out."

 

"I think she's Clove's mother," Madge says.

 

The girl from Two. The one Peeta killed. All of a sudden little things I'd noticed, like her hatred of Mr. Mellark all make sense.   "This can't be a coincidence," I say.

 

"Of course it isn't," Madge answers. "She's probably here to make our lives hell."

 

I think back to our dinner conversation as well as my first impression of the woman at the train station. "I'm not so sure. That may be what the Capitol intended, but I'm not sure if it's what she's going to be like. She seemed fairly willing to consider new ideas."

 

"Maybe," Madge concedes. "But I wouldn't get used to it."

 

"Maybe." I'm not as certain as Madge is that the woman is going to have it out for District Twelve. I wouldn't force her to interact with the Mellarks or Everdeens to be safe. But she doesn't strike me as the kind of woman who's out for revenge.

 

My hunch is further strengthened the next day when I accompany her and the Mayor on a tour of Twelve.      

 

"Your district seems rather poor," Captain Miner notes.

 

"It is rather poor," Orville agrees. "Unlike most of the other districts, Twelve doesn't have a secondary industry to fall back on, so when the mines don't perform, the whole district suffers."

 

"Then the miners should put more effort into performing," the woman observes.

 

"I think the miners would if there weren't some issues constraining them," he counters.

 

Captain Miner raises an eyebrow at the Mayor's remark. "Such as?"

 

"The morning curfew for one. The mine entrance is located about a mile outside of town. In the winter or in bad weather it's impossible for workers to get to the mine entrance by their required time unless they break curfew. The elevator to the underground shaft takes thirty minutes to descend to the bottom of the mine and thirty minutes to return to the surface. If a miner is late, they miss their ride and have to wait an hour for the next elevator." The Mayor holds out his hands. "So the miner is faced with a dilemma: break curfew and get to work on time, or follow curfew and miss an hour of work."

 

"And how often does this happen?" the Peacekeeper asks.

 

"In the winter, at least every other day if not more frequently. In the spring and fall about two times a week and in the summer at least once a week," Orville answers.

 

I hold back a smirk since I know that he's fudging the truth but that the months with missed quotas will support his statement. It's pretty clever.

 

Captain Miner pauses and looks around the town. "That is a problem. And Cray is aware of it?"

 

"He is."

 

"And what did he do about it?" the woman wants to know.

 

Orville shrugged. "He didn't really see a good solution so he just let each individual miner decide if they wanted to be late or if they wanted to break the law. I'm sure you know which choice most miners picked."

 

Captain Miner makes a face. "I do. I also am not immune to the problems facing those who work in the mines. I think we can come up with a solution that will work for all involved."

 

"Like?" the Mayor presses.

 

"We could issue papers to those miners whose shift starts at six thirty, allowing them special dispensation to be out up to an hour before curfew ends. That would allow them an hour and a half to get to the mine entrance, which should be more than enough time even if the weather does not cooperate."

 

Orville pretends to consider it. "I think that would work."

 

"Then I'll contact the Capitol to see about making it so."

 

We continue on our tour, showing her the Meadow and the inoperative fence with its holes in the chain link.

 

The Peacekeeper isn't pleased. "Why hasn't this been maintained?" she asks, her voice angry. "These holes are large enough that someone could get through!"

 

She's not wrong, but per Orville's plan I need to deflect her. "We've had problems with animals getting through in the past, sir. Cray's allowed us to set up traps to catch them because kids like to play in the Meadow." I drop Cray's name deliberately. For the price of a few turkeys and our silence on his many purchases of black market goods, he'd agreed to back up our statements about allowing trapping in the Meadow. It's a convenient fiction that allows all of us to maintain plausible deniability.

 

"Why would he allow that? Why not just fix the fence?"

 

"I think he tried, sir. But he kept running into problems with not enough supplies or something like that. I don't really know the full details."

 

"Hmmm," she murmurs. "And what did you do with the animals you caught?"

 

"Well, with Peacekeeper Cray's permission, we'd eat them or sell them. We didn't want to break the law so we always checked with Peacekeeper Cray first."

 

"And what kinds of animals did you catch?" Her question is pointed and it's obvious it's a trap.

 

I try to answer in such a way that I don't fall into it. "Well, sir, I haven't set any traps in the Meadow myself." Which is true, I set them out in the woods which is worse, but I'm not about to admit that. "But from what I understand people tend to catch a lot of wild dogs, rabbits, birds, and squirrels. The dogs are really dangerous and have been known to take a child or two and the others destroy our gardens so they're pretty big pests." Then I spring a trap of my own. "It'd be a big relief if we could get the fence fixed and power running through it once more."

 

She sighs. "That's not going to happen."

 

"Then what would you like us to do about the problem?" the Mayor asks.

 

"I don't have the force necessary to station along the perimeter of the district," she admits. "I only brought thirty additional troops with me and that isn't enough."

 

That's information we didn't know. Twelve had about fifty Peacekeepers before Captain Miner arrived. Now, we have eighty. It's enough that it's a warning.  

 

The Mayor doesn't acknowledge her slip. "It seems we need to think creatively, then."

 

"Do the snares work?" she wants to know.

 

I shrug. "I don't really know. I know that there's no way we're going to be able to get everything that gets through, but it makes people feel more secure."

 

"Then I suppose we can allow it. I'm not sure how I feel about what is technically poaching, though. I'd rather just let the animals rot as a deterrent."

 

Again I step in. "Dogs are scavengers, sir. And there's been reports of bears and cougars as well and they're carnivores. Leaving the captured animals out to rot would be just like ringing a dinner bell for more carnivores to slip through the fence."

 

"You make a good point, Hawthorne," she says. "I suppose I can allow people to keep what they kill, but I'd rather have it above board. Mayor Undersee," she says, turning to Orville. "I seem to recall a statute that allows the Head Peacekeeper to issue dispensations for illegal activities so long as said activities are in the direct interest of the Capitol and its citizens, is that correct?"

 

"I'd have to check my law books back in my office to be sure, but I think you're right."

 

"Good. Then I propose we issue licenses to these people who are doing the Capitol a service and attach an appropriate fee for the privilege. Anyone who has a license can trap game inside of the fence without facing the usual repercussions for poaching. Those who don't have a license will be subject to the Capitol's justice."

 

"That seems fair," the Mayor says. "What kind of a fee were you thinking of?"

 

She turns to me. "Hawthorne, you seem to have a good grasp of what people are willing to pay."

 

I consider her question seriously. I hunt to stave off starvation and having to pay a fee, no matter how small, is that much food out of my family's stomach. "You can probably charge five coin a month," I say after a moment. "Some people won't be able to afford it, but if you're willing to take items or services in trade they might go for it."

 

"Services?" she asks.

 

"Like laundry or cleaning or gardening. Things like that. We tend to work on a barter system in Twelve."

 

She nods. "We can consider it on a case by case basis." She lifts her wrist and checks the time. "I need to head back to town. I have a conference call in an hour and I do not want to be late."

 

"We understand," the Mayor says. "We'll finish our tour some other time?"

 

"Some other time," she agrees before turning on her heel and walking briskly back to town.

 

I watch her go and make sure she's out of earshot before saying, "That went well."

 

"It did," Orville agrees. "I wonder how long it will last."

 

I shake my head. I have no idea.  

 

**oOo**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:  
> Written: 11/16/14  
> Revised: 3/2/15  
> Beta read by RoseFyre
> 
> Sorry for the delay... ennui and inspiration for another fic hit and this took a backseat. 
> 
> Yes, Twelve is totally playing the placating game, but in this Universe they realize just how useless they are to the Capitol and how tenuous their existence is. Twelve is for that very reason a terrible place to start a rebellion and Gale now realizes that. Twelve is also likely one of the few districts that really only has one industry. The others probably all have secondary industries and in my headcanon Twelve used to too. Theirs was drugs... Appalachia is known for ginseng and for marijuana farming. With synthetics like morphling developed elsewhere, the need wasn't as necessary and after the Dark Days considering the district's proximity to Thirteen likely never reestablished. 
> 
> Yep, that's Clove's mother there as the new Head! Thread is being sent elsewhere since Twelve isn't as much of a problem child. But do you really think Snow would let Twelve off all that lightly? Especially in light of Peeta's little rebellion? 
> 
> Anyway, one more chapter to go, no clue when that will happen. RoseFyre and I are working on another fic and real life is starting to gear up. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The Hunger Games Trilogy is property of Suzanne Collins. This is a parody fanwork by fans for fans. No money was made off of the creation of this fanwork.
> 
> Note: This is Gale's side story which takes place in the same universe and runs concurrently to my story "Spectator." You will likely want to read that fic first since I will be making reference to the events that take place in it. This chapter takes place during and after the events of Chapter 36.

**oOo**

Working with Captain Miner for the next few days helps keep my mind off of Katniss's upcoming wedding. But keeping busy can't completely keep the feeling of dread from gnawing at my heart. As much as I've mentally come to terms with Katniss getting married, I still am a bit heartbroken at what I've lost.

 

Madge seems to understand. She's been carefully making sure I have various distractions like taking Rory out into the Meadow for the first time to teach him how to identify the edible plants there and altering some of her father's old suits for me to wear.

 

The fact she can sew as well as she can is a bit of a surprise. When I asked her about it she just shrugged and said that a lot of merchant girls are encouraged to participate in 'quilting circles' and as the Mayor's daughter she has an obligation to participate.

 

"Sounds boring," I tell her as she's letting down the hem of the pair of pants I'm wearing.

 

She pulls the pins she's holding out of her mouth and says, "It is. Although if you ever want to know which merchant girls would defy their families to date you, I might be persuaded to divulge the names."

 

I grin down at her. "Isn't that against some kind of rule?"

 

"It would be if I actually liked any of them," she says going back to what she's doing.

 

"I don't think I'm up for a relationship at the moment. Thanks for the offer, though."

 

"Probably for the best." She flashes me a grin. "They're all a bunch of busybodies anyway!"

 

I laugh. It's good to have a friend.

 

**oOo**

 

The day of Katniss's wedding arrives.

 

I'd been afraid that it'd be another rationed power day and I'd be forced to watch the woman I love get married to another man in front of the whole district. But Captain Miner and the Mayor worked together to make sure this didn't happen.

 

It'd be an insult, Captain Miner pointed out, if the District which is home to the star-crossed lovers couldn't have enough power to watch the event of the season from the comfort of their own homes. I'm a little surprised at her vehemence since I know that her daughter was in the Games with the boy she'd planned on marrying. I'd have expected her to want to exact some kind of revenge. I guess she has more integrity than that. And if her integrity means that I don't have to have my pain paraded in front of all of District Twelve, I'll take it.

 

It’s still small comfort.

 

I might not be forced to watch the woman I love get married while the rest of District Twelve watches me, but that doesn’t change that I’m still watching Katniss marry that damned merchant Mellark. I know I shouldn’t think of him that way, not all merchants are useless, but I can’t stop my resentment. Mellark’s stealing my family, and what's worse is I'm sure the bastard knows it.

 

I can’t hide what I’m feeling from Madge as much as I want to. I know she feels a little betrayed, like I’m backsliding, but in a way I guess I am. For today, I’m allowed to hate Peeta Mellark. For today, I’m allowed to want to throttle whoever thought it was a good idea to marry my girl to that damned merchant. For today, I’m allowed to be the old Gale Hawthorne who doesn’t see shades of gray, who only sees the world in black and white, good or evil, us versus them. I want Madge to understand, it’s important that she does, even though I’m not sure why it’s important that she does. But I’m not sure I can face her today.

 

I’m not sure I can face anyone.

 

The Everdeen house is empty. I stand in the main room looking around, thinking of all of the things Katniss and I have done here. We made love on her mother’s bed and we celebrated birthdays, hers, mine, Posy’s, at that very table. This place has so many memories. What’s one more?

 

The screen turns on despite the occupants not being home and an excited blue-haired woman chattering away. Next to her sits Vera Johnson, who the blue-haired woman identifies as one of the Capitol’s premier couture designers. They’re chattering on excitedly about the who’s who of the Capitol elite who are attending the wedding of the star-crossed lovers from District Twelve. I want to scream at them that they aren’t lovers, that Katniss is mine, but I somehow manage to keep it inside. I watch wave after wave of brightly colored people enter President Snow’s gardens where the wedding will take place. They’re dressed extravagantly, with bodies and hair dyed to match their clothes. Vera can’t stop talking about one woman who’s wearing a bright pink hat that looks a bit like a toilet seat on her head. I’m not sure why it’s the look of the season, but apparently it is.

 

On and on the parade continues and I wish they would just get it over already. I don’t need to see undersecretary so-and-so with his paramour of the moment, screen actress what’s-her-face. None of these people matter to us out here in the districts. They’re just names on a TV screen who have nothing to do with real life. The only names I do recognize are those from the Games. Finnick Odair. Beetee Lee. Haymitch Abernathy.

 

There’s a knock on the door and I know immediately who’s there. There’s only one person it could be: Madge. I open it to see the Mayor’s daughter standing there, a brown paper bag clutched in her hands.

 

“Why are you here?” I ask without any preamble.

 

“I thought you might like some company.”

 

“Well you thought wrong. Goodbye.” I start to shut the door in her face.

 

She reaches out, her hand stopping me from closing the door. “Damn it, Gale! I’m about fed up with you!”

 

“Well that makes two of us.”

 

“What has gotten into you?” she asks incredulously. “Where’s the guy who took me hunting? Who talked to me? Laughed with me? Where’s that guy gone? Because I sure as crap don't recognize this asshole standing in front of me.   And I’m about to ask him to get the fuck out of my friend’s house!”

 

I stare at her. She’s pissed. Not that I really can blame her, I am acting like a bit of a dick, but I didn’t expect her to react this way. “You know why,” I say, not willing to admit that I’m wrong.

 

“No, I really kind of don’t! You’ve known this was coming, you’ve known for weeks!”

 

“Well knowing something is gonna happen and actually seeing it happen are two different things!”

 

She shrugs her shoulders. “I suppose, but that sounds like an excuse to me.”

 

I try to close the door again. “Go away, I don’t want to be around anyone today.”

 

“Too bad. We don’t always get what we want. You’re acting like an idiot, Hawthorne. And you’re forgetting that we’re in enemy territory.”

 

“We’re always in enemy territory,” I say.

 

“That’s right. Which means you can’t afford to let your guard down. I promised myself for Katniss’s sake that I wouldn’t let you do anything stupid, and I’m gonna keep that promise.” She reaches into the bag and pulls out an iced sugar cookie. “So, cookie?”

 

I stare at the iced sugar cookie she’s holding out. There’s nothing special about it, nothing painted on the icing, but I’m just not sure if I should take it.

 

“Look, you don’t have to eat it,” she says. “Take it home to Posy, I’m sure she’ll like it. But if you’re eating something, you’re not running your mouth.”

 

I take the cookie and set it on the table. “I’m not hungry. Besides, I’ll probably just throw up anything I do eat.”

 

“That’s a good point,” she concedes. “I might be willing to keep you from being an idiot, Hawthorne, but I’m not about to clean up your vomit. We're friends, but we're not that good of friends.”

 

“Good to know you have boundaries.”

 

“Well, a girl’s gotta have standards.”

 

“So what else do you have in that bag of yours?” I ask.

 

“Wonderful things,” she answers. “I’ve got strawberries and some chocolate that I’ve been saving for just such an occasion. No alcohol, we don’t need a drunk Gale running around.”

 

I chuckle.

 

“But I do have some fried chicken, a bunch of cheese buns from the bakery." She starts to pull the items out of her bag, setting them on the table. "You do not know how much I have missed those cheese buns and I am glad the Mellarks are back, even if Mrs. Mellark is in a fit. You’d think it was the most horrible thing on earth that her son survived the Hunger Games and is marrying Katniss. She’s even being more of an asshole than you, if you can believe it. Captain Miner’s about to lock her up for disorderly conduct. The woman will just not shut up about how horrible the Capitol is and how it’s such a travesty that her baby boy has to marry that 'slut from the Seam.'”

 

I feel my anger rise at the slur. “Katniss is not a slut.”

 

Madge looks up at me. “Of course she’s not, but good luck telling Muffy Mellark that. I’m glad we fleeced her brother." She smiles ferally. "It couldn’t happen to a nicer family.”

 

“Is it wrong that I feel sorry for Mellark for having a mom like that?”

 

“No. It means you’re human and not a complete asshole, just only most of one. For today at least.”

 

I look at the brown paper bag and note it's still got stuff in it. “What else is in there?”

 

“Stuff for later, if you need it,” she answers mysteriously.

 

“Like what?”

 

“Some extra handkerchiefs, some sleep syrup, if you get really out of hand or if you need it for tonight, and…”

 

“And?”

 

She reaches in and pulls out a small stuffed bear. “And Chester.”

 

“Chester?”

 

“My bear." She cuddles the bedraggled toy to her chest. "He’s named after my Grandpa Chester. Grandpa gave him to me when I was born, my mom tells me. I don't really remember, I never really knew him. He died a few months after I was born. Chester kept me safe, growing up. I figured he could keep you safe. You don’t have to snuggle him, but he gives good snuggles.” She holds the bear out to me.

 

I take it gently. It's got fuzzy brown fur made from some kind of material that's similar to velvet. There's a yellow polka-dot bow tied around its neck. The bow is a bit droopy and lop-sided, like it's been tied and re-tied several times. I’m touched she would bring her childhood toy to share with me. “You really are a good friend, Madge Undersee,” I say.

 

“Nice of you to notice." She sighs. "Look, I know you don’t want to do it, but it looks like everyone is taking their seats. The ceremony’s about to begin and it’s better if you see this for yourself rather than hear about it later.”

 

She’s right.

 

The announcers explain that Caesar Flickerman will be performing the ceremony and President Snow will be acting as Katniss’s father in terms of giving her away, and it’s all so very very exciting. This explains why Caesar isn’t narrating this travesty, he’s a part of it.

 

Madge seems more concerned about President Snow’s role. “That’s not good,” she says, frowning. "I wonder why he’s so involved.”

 

I shrug. “He’s probably up to something.”

 

Madge gives me a look. “That’s a given. The question is what. What does he have planned? I’m worried about Katniss. She doesn’t know how to play the game.”

 

“She’s also a terrible liar,” I add, thinking about my own interactions with various officials.

 

Madge frowns even more. “That’s not good.”

 

“What about this whole thing is?” I ask.

 

She just shrugs.

 

Mellark escorts Caesar Flickerman down the aisle, then takes his place, adjusting the cuffs of his ivory jacket. The Vera person is exclaiming excitedly over the flame and mockingjay motif embroidered on Mellark’s vest and hinted at along the cuffs of his waistcoat and trousers.

 

“He’s still wearing the pin,” Madge notes and I see the mockingjay pin, the one that he’s been wearing throughout the Games, is prominently on display over his heart.

 

“Wonder where he got it.”

 

“Katniss gave it to him,” Madge answers. “You’d find that out eventually,” she tells me when I stare at her incredulously. “The pin was my Aunt Maysilee’s. I gave it to Katniss when she was Reaped and she gave it to Peeta.”

 

“Do you know why?” I’m unable to keep myself from asking.

 

“Something about she owed him. I don’t claim to understand how the whole system of Seam owing works, but Katniss felt that was all she could do at the time to try to settle her debt.”

 

I nod my head, accepting the story. It makes sense. I’m guessing she feels she owes Mellark for saving Prim’s life. I understand why she’s doing what she is. I even understand why Mellark did what he did. I understand it all. But that doesn’t make it any easier to accept.

 

I try to focus on inconsequential things, like what people are wearing or the decorations. I note Caesar’s also dressed in the continuing flame theme, but his suit is much more sedate than what he normally wears. There are several bird decorations scattered about and even the roses seem to be representing flames. I’m guessing that Mellark’s designer had a hand in that.

 

The background music changes and the commentators fall into a hush. Katniss emerges a few moments later, one hand resting in the crook of President Snow’s arm.

 

I can’t take my eyes off of her.

 

Whoever designed her dress should be commended. Compared to all of the brightly colored overly styled ornate outfits that the Capitolites are wearing, Katniss’s dress is almost plain in comparison, but calling it plain would be doing it a disservice. She’s been rather carefully styled to look as youthful and innocent as possible. Her dress is simple, the overlying lace matching the embroidery on Mellark’s vest. Her makeup is clean and if I hadn’t spent day after day, year after year, looking at her face, I would think that she wasn’t wearing any. There’s a crown of flowers resting on her head, similar to the crowns Posy and I make in the Meadow. Whoever made that decision, I don’t know if I want to cuff them or compliment them. Katniss is beautiful, and now all of Panem can see it.

 

She’s also clearly trying to look happy, but I know her well enough to know that she’s not.

 

How could she be? She told me she never wanted to be a wife or mother, and now she’s going to be both.

 

I can't stop the jealous thoughts from forming. If she had to marry anybody, why couldn’t it be me? At least I actually know her, understand her, love her. Mellark says he’s in love with her, but I don’t know how he can be. Katniss says they never even talked until the day he was Reaped, and I believe her. You can’t love someone without ever talking to them.

 

That’s not love. That’s obsession.

 

I’m scared for her.

 

My fears magnify when Caesar steps forward and delivers his opening speech. “We’re gathered here today to witness the unification of this handsome young Victor, Peeta Mellark,” he indicates Peeta with a grand gesture then turns to Katniss, “and his beautiful inspiration, his faithful bride-to-be Katniss Everdeen.”

 

Beside me Madge snorts.

 

I glare at her.

 

Back on the television, Caesar continues his speech, gesticulating excitedly throughout. “Together, they defied the customs of their backwards district to fall in love and start a family together.”

 

“Backwards my ass." I glare at the screen. "Who writes this crap?”

 

Madge snorts again. “Probably Caesar or Snow.”

 

I grunt, wishing I didn’t have to watch this mockery of a wedding.

 

“We’ve been blessed to be a part of their love story, and more importantly, they have been blessed by the Capitol with this happy ending. Because, if it weren’t for the Games, they never would have been able to have a marvelous wedding here, at our beloved President Snow’s mansion.” Confirming Madge’s guess that Snow had a hand in the speech writing and the whole wedding. “And it’s thanks to our dear President Snow that we’re able to even have been witness to Katniss and Peeta’s inspiring love story. This, my friends, is why we have the Games. The Games brought these two young people together and they show us that the wisdom of the Capitol so long ago after the horror of the Dark Days was right. Their love is proof of the Capitol’s love and I don’t know about you, but I look forward to seeing this love story through to the very end.”

 

Madge lets out a low whistle. “That’s not good,” she says. “That last line. I don’t like that last line.”

 

“I don’t like the whole thing,” I say, “but what about that last line bothers you?”

 

“It sounds like a threat. Like Caesar’s going to be alive to see the marriage come to an end. Which he shouldn’t. Caesar’s old. I’d be surprised if he lived another twenty years. The fact that he’s planning to see this through to the very end? I’m worried about Katniss and Peeta.”

 

“I’m sure that was just Caesar being Caesar. He’s always like that. I mean, how many kids does he tell ‘I look forward to seeing you back here at the Victory Celebration?’ It’s just words.”

 

“I hope you’re right,” Madge says.

 

Caesar drones on about the power and the generosity of the Capitol for several minutes longer and the camera flickers to various people’s reaction shots. I don’t know if I’m supposed to recognize any of the people that the camera shows on screen, but I’m guessing they have some significance.

 

Caesar finally wraps up ten or so minutes later, saying, “And now our lovely couple will exchange their marriage vows. Peeta has requested to go first.”

 

The camera switches to the merchant. “I, Peeta Mellark, take you, Katniss Everdeen, to be my wife. I promise to love, honor, and cherish you, through any trials and tribulations, to protect our family against all who might threaten it. To be your helpmate in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, no matter what the future has in store.”

 

I can feel my blood boiling. The bastard means me. He means that he’s got it out for me. He knows I’m not going to give up my daughter that easily. The kid’s mine, damn it. I have the right to be a part of her life and that bastard’s not gonna keep her away from me.

 

Madge must guess what I’m thinking because she says, “I don’t think he’s talking about you, you know.”

 

“Who else could he be talking about?”

 

“I don’t know, how about the people who put them there?" she answers, rolling her eyes. "The people who are forcing him to get married to Katniss. He’s basically telling them, ‘you mess with my family, you’re gonna have to go through me.’ It’s sweet, but really, really stupid.”

 

“He’s not gonna keep me from my daughter,” I grumble.

 

“You’re going to have to talk to Katniss about that,” Madge says. “But be careful. The Capitol doesn’t know who you are and what you mean to Katniss. A lot of people have risked their lives to make sure of that. Don’t sacrifice their efforts just because you’re feeling all alpha male.”

 

I grumble but nod my head. I know the main reason why I have the job with her father is so I wouldn’t have to provide the reference sample for working in the mines. A reference sample that could be used to match up my unborn daughter’s DNA to my own.

 

Katniss is up next. She looks uncomfortable, nervous, and she stumbles haltingly over her vows. I can tell right away that she didn’t write them. Katniss is not what you’d call eloquent and the vows are nothing like what we say here in District Twelve. The one thing I notice is that, unlike Mellark, she doesn’t promise to love her new husband. Knowing my Katniss, she couldn’t lie that well. It’d show on her face, and then the jig’d be up. Whoever wrote the drivel that she’s spouting must have known that and adjusted what she had to say accordingly. I don’t know why, but just knowing that Katniss doesn’t love Mellark makes me feel better. I know that I don’t have a chance with her, not anymore, but he doesn’t get off scot-free either.

 

The rest of Katniss’s wedding is more Capitol fluff. There’s a choir of small children singing what I can only guess are Capitol wedding song standards but to me just sound like more of the same brainless drivel that the Capitol’s known for. Caesar gives another speech praising President Snow. It’s almost as if the wedding were a secondary event to this President Snow love fest.

 

Finally comes the part I’d been dreading the most. Caesar finishes his last President Snow praise-a-thon and then smiles benevolently at Katniss and Mellark. “And now the part I’m sure you’ve all been dying for! With the authority vested in me by President Snow and our beloved country of Panem, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Peeta Mellark, winner of the Seventy Fourth Hunger Games, you may now kiss your bride!”

 

To Mellark’s credit, the kiss is awkward and perfunctory. It’s clear that both participants are extremely uncomfortable with the parts that they’re having to play, and it shows. I wonder if the Capitol will realize the whole thing's a farce, but Caesar just passes it off as newlywed nerves.

 

The camera lingers on Katniss and Mellark. I wonder if they’re hoping for a redo, but it doesn’t happen. The over-effusive announcers return, saying that the live footage is now over, but that they’ll be showing highlights from the reception in President Snow’s own banquet hall later this evening and that you won’t want to miss it. And that Caesar Flickerman will be by later to add some color commentary to today’s wonderful events.

 

Madge gets up and shuts the TV off. I’m not sure I could take that much more.

 

I look up at her. “So… that’s it,” I say.

 

She nods her head. “That’s it. I’m not gonna ask you how you feel, I’ve got a pretty good idea. But I do have to ask one thing.”

 

“What?”

 

“Are you gonna pull a Muffy Mellark?”

 

I know what she means. Am I going to run around cursing the Capitol. I shake my head. “No. You beat enough sense into me. I know better than that.”

 

“They’re going to be home in a couple of days,” she says. “You gonna be able to face them?”

 

“Do I have a choice?”

 

“We all have choices. Sometimes the choices are just between a bunch of bad options.”

 

“I guess it depends on Mellark,” I say. “And on Katniss.”

 

Madge shakes her head. “Only you can decide what you’re gonna do. You can’t pass the buck to Katniss or Peeta. They’re not in charge of you.”

 

I make a face. She’s right. Again. I’m getting a little sick of it. “I hate that you’re right,” I tell her.

 

“But at least you’re smart enough to recognize it.” She smiles at me encouragingly.

 

“Not like I got a choice. You’ll smack me over the head if I forget. Look. I need time to think,” I tell her. “Alone.”

 

She nods her head. “Don’t take too much time,” she says. “There isn’t a whole lot of time left.”

 

**oOo**

 

She’s right. There’s not.

 

Orville pulls me to one side the following day. “The teams have arrived to move the Victors’ stuff,” he says.

 

“Move it where?”

 

He gives me a look.

 

“Oh, right. Victors’ Village. Sorry about that.” A thought strikes me. "Why now? Don't they normally move themselves?" We haven't had a Victor in so long I'm not sure about the procedures.

 

Orville shakes his head. "The Capitol oversees the move. Most of the time the Victor's family is there to make sure that the movers take what they want. This year's a little...unusual."

 

"That's one way of putting it," I say darkly.

 

“Yeah, well, we just have to roll with it." The Mayor shuffles some papers on his desk, before returning to the topic at hand. "I figured Carrick could take the Mellarks’ place while you took the Everdeens’.”

 

“Why can’t Ronnie take the Everdeens'?” I know I sound like a petulant teenager, but I'd really rather not supervise the ransacking of my best friend's house by a bunch of Capitol goons. The way I'm feeling right now I'm afraid I'll 'do something stupid' as Madge says and I'd rather not break my promise to the girl.

 

Madge's father regards me sympathetically. “I know you'd rather not be involved. But unfortunately this move is a bit more complicated than normal and I don't think Ronnie'll be able to do what you can. You see, some of the stuff’s going to go to Prim’s house in the Victors' Village while some of it’s going to go to Peeta’s.”

 

“You mean, you want me to sort through Katniss’s stuff and tell them what to take to Mellark’s house.” It's not a question.

 

Orville nods his head. “Ronnie’s not going to know what’s Katniss’s and what’s Prim’s and what’s Violet’s. You will.”

 

“I’m not happy about this, sir.” I need to make sure he understands that the only reason I'm going to do this is because he's ordering me to.

 

“You don’t have to be," he tells me. "You've just got to do it.”

 

I shunt my feelings to the side to focus on the task facing me. “Who’s going to be doing the actual moving?” My tone is businesslike, crisp.

 

Tilting his head down to scan the papers in his hands, the Mayor says, “The Capitol’s sent a team and there’ll be Peacekeepers supervising the whole thing. They arrived on the train this morning.”

 

“And when are the Everdeens getting back?”

 

He checks the papers. “Tomorrow afternoon." He sets them back down on his desk. "They sent a TV crew on the train this morning as well.”

 

“Turning it into a whole big show, aren’t they?” I motion to the papers.

 

“Did you really expect otherwise?" Orville asks me, the corners of his mouth quirking upwards. "These are the star-crossed lovers of District Twelve. Of course the Capitol wants to see their triumphant return to the backwards hamlet that tried to stifle their love.”

 

I can tell Orville doesn’t believe a word of it and that he’s parroting Caesar tongue-in-cheek. But it doesn’t make it any less frustrating. I need to get away from Katniss, to be able to think, and standing around directing total strangers to ransack her house isn’t going to do that.

 

But surprisingly it’s easier than I expected. The Capitol's team of movers takes us to the Victors’ Village first so that we can get an idea of what they might need. Personal effects, some clothing, whatever food they have stored. But that’s it. The houses are fully furnished, complete with dishes, silverware, linens for the beds… they don’t need to take much and it’s a bit surprising.

 

I walk through the two almost identical houses in a daze. I feel lost and out of sorts. The sameness disconcerts me since I'm used to the quirky architecture and decorating associated with houses in the Seam. Only the color of the furniture tells me that I’m not in the same house. Even the walls have been painted in the same neutral tones.

 

In the entryway of what I’ve been told will be Mellark’s house are a bunch of crates. None of them are labeled, but I think I see a chandelier poking out of one of them although that raises a slew of other questions I have no way of finding out the answer to. In addition to the chandelier, there are also several brightly wrapped packages of varying sizes and shapes.

 

“Coming through!” a voice calls out. I step to one side and two of the movers walk in with dollies full of crates and boxes.

 

“What is all this stuff?” I ask, staring at the ever growing pile of packages.

 

“Don’t know, but it came on the train with us,” one of the men says.

 

The other pipes up, “I think a bunch of it’s baby stuff. I’m pretty sure I saw a box of diapers mixed in with all this crap.”

 

“Where’s it all going to go?”

 

“Not my problem," the man says brusquely. "Our job is just to get it here. Peeta Mellark and his missus get to figure that out.” If he didn't have the typical Capitol accent I'd have guessed he came from the Seam.

 

It bugs me to hear Katniss referred to as Peeta’s missus. It’s almost like she’s not her own person, and I know she’d hate that description. But I don’t bother to correct them. Instead I look around, peeking into what crates I can.

 

The one mover’s right. It is a lot of baby stuff. I’m guessing someone in the Capitol, maybe President Snow, sent all this. My daughter's going to be the most spoiled child in Twelve.

 

And that's when it hits me. Mellark, for all that I hate him, will be able to provide for my family better than me. Even with the Mayor’s job, money’s still tight. Mellark’s rich. And what’s more, the Capitol likes him. They’re already showering him with gifts.

 

I can barely afford to buy my daughter a doll.

 

She’ll be better off with Mellark. At least here she’ll have a full belly, never have to worry about going hungry or having to wear patched and holey clothing. She’ll be warm and safe. Mellark will protect her. For Katniss’s sake, if nothing else. And Katniss? She doesn’t want me. Doesn’t need me. She’s never needed me. No. They’re both better off without me.

 

Somehow, that realization makes things easier. Lighter. I’m able to make it through my duties without breaking down. I don’t have them take much of Katniss’s stuff to Mellark’s house. Just an extra picture of her father, her dad’s hunting jacket, the plant book, and a few clothes. Katniss isn’t the type to hold onto things and she hasn't accumulated a lot of stuff. Prim’s actually got more personal items than Katniss does: a worn picture book, the tattered remains of what used to be a stuffed animal, a few pressed flowers, a string of wooden beads, and several mud-stained baby clothes.

 

Which brings up another issue. What to do with Prim’s animals? The movers and I have to hastily construct a fence outside the back door of her new house because there isn't a place to keep animals. There’s a flower and vegetable garden, but no fence, and I don’t think Prim would take kindly to Lady wandering off. Lady takes the move placidly, she's a good goat. Buttercup, on the other hand, is a handful. The cat hisses and spits at anyone who approaches him and finally takes off running through the legs of one of the movers. I chase after him a bit but lose him when he darts through several nearby yards. Stupid animal! Prim can deal with the damned cat when she gets home.

 

My job complete, I go home. I’m tired even though I didn’t really do all that much. I probably should check back in with the Mayor, but I just can’t be bothered. I sit in my chair, contemplating what I’ve got left in my life. I’m eighteen years old and about to become a father, and I feel like the biggest failure.

 

I feel someone small climb into my lap and look down to see my sister Posy curled up against my chest. “What are you doing?” I ask.

 

“You looked sad. Are you sad?”

 

I stroke her glossy black hair. “Yeah baby girl, I am.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Adult stuff.”

 

She wrinkles her nose. “Adult stuff’s boring.”

 

“Not all of it,” I say with a chuckle.

 

“But it makes you sad! If it makes you sad, you shouldn’t do it.” She says it like it’s some kind of proclamation.

 

“It’s not that easy.”

 

“Why not?” She rests her head on my shoulder, looking up at me.

 

How am I supposed to tell her that I feel like I can’t provide for my family? That my whole life is nothing but a giant mess? I settle for a half answer. “I made a mistake, baby girl. And I can’t kiss it and make it better.”

 

“Didja make a mistake with Katniss?”

 

“Yeah, I did.”

 

“Does it have to do with the baby?”

 

I look at her sharply. When did my baby sister get so astute? “Yeah, it does.”

 

“That’s a pretty big mistake," she tells me, nodding her head solemnly. "But I’m sure you’ll make it all better! You’re a good big brother. It’s why you’re my favorite.”

 

I wrap my arms around her little body, holding her close. “You’re my favorite too.”

 

**oOo**

 

That night during Mandatory Viewing they dwell on Katniss’s wedding. They show exclusive moments from the wedding reception, including several very forced kisses. I can tell Katniss is extremely uncomfortable throughout the whole thing. She’s always been a private person and having her public life exposed like this has got to be hard on her. With every forced kiss I can see a momentary flash of displeasure before she smiles and gives Mellark a peck on the lips. They're definitely not the most romantic kisses I’ve ever seen. Heck, even the kisses in those horrible Capitol dramas are better.

 

But Katniss isn’t the only one who seems put out. Mellark seems to be growing steadily more and more unhappy as the event goes on. He’s doing a good job of hiding it, but if you know what to look for, you can tell he’s forcing himself to put on an act.

 

I find myself feeling sorry for the guy. And that gives me pause. I’ve been so angry at Mellark for stealing my girl that I’ve forgotten that he’s not the one doing the stealing. The Capitol is. He’s just a pawn in their games and worse, Katniss is caught up in them as well. She’s probably going to end up hating Mellark. I know I would… am. And that’s not really fair to the guy. In fact, this whole marriage thing isn’t fair, to either of them.

 

I believed Katniss when she told me never wanted to get married, even though it did take a while for it to finally sink in. And now the Capitol’s forced her to do just that. I can’t be worse than the Capitol. She's going to need a friend and she's never trusted people easily. I'm one of the few who's gotten in and despite everything I still want to be a part of her life in any way I can. I can’t take this out on her, and if I’m honest with myself, I can’t take this out on him either.

 

My eyes slip back up to the screen. They’re showing Katniss and Peeta’s first dance. The guy is smiling, but it’s not quite reaching his eyes. His eyes reveal his sadness, his disappointment.

 

No. I can’t hate him. It’s hard to hate somebody you feel sorry for. And right now, even though Peeta's been proclaimed a Victor, the poor kid’s actually a loser.

 

**oOo**

 

The following afternoon finds me dressed in the best of Mayor Undersee’s hand-me-down suits. Wearing a long sleeved cotton button down shirt under a wool vest and jacket in the July heat is not my idea of a good time, but I can’t back out of this. District Twelve’s first Hunger Games Victors in twenty four years are returning home today and everyone of importance needs to be present for the cameras to record this auspicious event. That includes me.

 

Beside me, Madge looks almost as uncomfortable as I am, shifting back and forth from foot to foot. I know it’s not because of the heat. She’s wearing a light yellow dress that blows easily in the summer wind. It's got poufy short sleeves and lace around the neck. I sidle up to her. “Did someone forget to use the bathroom?”

 

She glares at me. “Knock it off, Hawthorne!" she growls. "It’s these shoes. They’re killing me.”

 

I look down to see that her feet are encased in a pair of white high heeled open toed sandals. “Are you trying to imitate Effie Trinket?” Referring to the stilettos the Capitol woman insists on wearing every year.

 

“I didn't plan on it!" she wails, leaning on my arm to stand on one foot. "My respect for that woman’s gone up a hundred fold! I don’t know how she manages it! I'm about ready to cut off my feet if I thought it'd stop the pain.”

 

“That still doesn’t explain why you’re wearing them.”

 

“They’re my mom’s, okay?" she answers, shooting me another glare. "That damned cat of Prim’s peed on my good pair. I didn’t want to walk around smelling of cat piss!”

 

I'm struggling not to laugh. “How’d he do that?”

 

“I was wearing them when I went back to Katniss’s house to feed that goat of her sister’s. The cat saw one of the Capitol movers doing something and sprayed all over me, including my shoes!”

 

“You wore your good shoes to milk the goat?”

 

“It made sense at the time! I needed to break them in. They’re new, okay?”

 

I can't keep the laughter in any longer. “And now they’ve got cat piss all over them.”

 

“Shut up.” She punches me in the arm.

 

I tap her back. “Nah, I think I’ll laugh at you a bit more. Takes my mind off the fact that I can now bake bread in my armpits.”

 

She grins at me. “Better not tell Peeta that.”

 

“What, you think he wants to bake armpit bread? I’ll pass.”

 

“Suit yourself.”

 

We can hear the train coming in the distance. Time to get into our starting positions. I straighten my clothing, moving back to take my place behind and to the left of the Mayor. I see Madge doing the same. She shoots me an encouraging smile that morphs into a grimace.

 

I chuckle.

 

The train pulls into the station and I can see Prim waving gleefully out one of the windows. I don’t see Katniss or Peeta yet, I’m guessing that they’re inside, waiting for the door to open to their adoring public, or at least that’s how I assume Caesar Flickerman’s describing it to the Capitol audience right now.

 

And the public is adoring. The crowd in the square cheers wildly, stomping their feet and clapping. It’s thanks to these two that they’ve got more food and supplies to feed their families. For this year, fewer families will have to take out tesserae. Only the most desperate will need to take that chance. For once, my family will not be among them.

 

The train draws to a halt and a white-clad Peacekeeper leaps forward to open the door. An unsteady Haymitch Abernathy stumbles out of the train, holding up his hands in victory, egging the crowd on. I can’t even understand what he’s saying, his words are so slurred and unenunciated, but the crowd is eating it up. He deserves this moment. As much as I disrespect the old drunk, he’s managed to pull off something that no other mentor has. He’s brought home both of his tributes alive.

 

Mrs. Everdeen steps out next, holding out a hand to Prim. The crowd cheers, shouting Prim’s name. The twelve year old, in her pretty blue dress, smiles and blows kisses at the crowd. Now that she’s here in person, I can see that the Capitol has done things to her, modified her to fit their version of beauty. It’s disgusting. It makes me wonder what they might have done to Katniss or our baby.

 

As if in answer to my thoughts, Peeta and Katniss come out next. She looks mostly the same, a little more filled out than when she left, but that’s not a bad thing. She was dangerously thin before. Emaciated. She looks healthier now and her cheeks don't have that hollowness to them that they used to. Her stomach’s protruding more, it looks like she’s finally popped. I wonder, if I placed my hand on her belly, if I could feel my daughter move. There’s no safe way for me to find out.

 

The cheers go on and on with Haymitch encouraging them. Finally, the Mayor steps forward and clears his throat.

 

No one hears him.

 

He tries again, taking the boxy microphone and tapping it.

 

The squeal of feedback echoes across the stadium platform, but the Mayor's managed to get everyone's attention. Good. I just want this to be over.

 

“Peeta Mellark and Primrose Everdeen," Orville begins, "on behalf of all of the citizens of District Twelve, we welcome you home with open arms. We’re proud to be the first district in history to have dual Victors. Thank you for showing District Twelve’s strength.” He goes on to thank the Capitol for being so generous to allow this opportunity and other placating doubletalk.

 

During the Mayor’s speech, I watch Katniss, willing her to notice me. She finally does see me standing next to him and I flash her a quick smile. She doesn’t appear as surprised as I thought she would be, I’m guessing someone told her about my new job. I wonder who.

 

When the Mayor finishes, Haymitch steps forward, belching loudly into the microphone. The crowd laughs. It’s during Haymitch’s speech that I finally get the opportunity to talk to Katniss.

 

The mentor’s talking about how the only reason he was able to bring back two Victors, is because the people of the Capitol wanted it, and it’s thanks to the Capitol’s generosity that it’s happened. He's echoing the Mayor's words and that tells me more than anything else that there's something else going on. “Is Haymitch for real?”

 

“Don’t underestimate him,” Katniss says, her mouth barely moving.

 

I grunt. “So… how are you?”

 

She shoots me a look. “I’m fine. Suppose I should be asking you the same question.”

 

“I’m fine too,” I say. This is not going the way I’d planned. The conversation’s awkward and I’m not really sure what to say. “You look good,” I murmur.

 

“So do you." She gives me a look. "Didn’t know you owned a suit.”

 

“It’s a hand-me-down from Madge’s father.”

 

“Madge?” Katniss asks.

 

“She’s a friend,” I say.

 

“It’s good to have friends.”

 

I hazard a glance back over at her. “Yeah. It is." I take a deep breath. "Are we still friends, Katniss?”

 

Her eyes dart up to meet mine. “I’d like to be.”

 

“I’d like that too,” I tell her.

 

I want to say more but Haymitch’s speech comes to an end and I see Peeta stepping up to take his place. “You should go stand beside him,” I say, nodding at her husband.

 

“You’re not upset?” she asks, her concern evident in her tone. There’s a lot of questions there, more than just the one that’s being asked.

 

There’s no way I can answer them all without our exchange getting noticed, so instead I say, “It’s just good to have you home, Catnip.”

 

She smiles. She understands. “It’s good to be home.”

 

**oOo**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:  
> Written: 4/30/15  
> Revised: 5/11/15  
> Revised 2: 5/14/15  
> Betaread by RoseFyre
> 
> Ugh! This chapter was hell to write. In fact, it likely still wouldn’t be written if RoseFyre hadn’t volunteered to take dictation for me so I didn’t have the problem of staring at the screen willing words to appear on it. Which doesn’t work, let me tell you. I tried. And we discovered during the course of our co-write that apparently I can be hella prolific if I can pace or do a latchhook rug or anything else really other than type. So seriously, thank her. This chapter would still be sitting at 400 words written if it weren’t for her. She's awesome and I wouldn't be half the writer without her. 
> 
> So that wraps up Gale’s arc. Yes, he backslid for a bit. This is normal. But he’s moved on and accepted that he and Katniss aren’t going to be romantic. In a very real sense, this was Gale dealing with the five stages of grief. This story was also about redefining his role in the story and that of District Twelve. Changes are a coming and canon is becoming more and more a distant memory.
> 
> Finishing this fic also means I can start working on Participant finally. It's going to be 30 chapters long although that may change. In addition, this fic can serve as a series ending if necessary, in case I get hit by a bus or something like that. The plan is for me to work on Participant during Camp NaNoWrimo in July. 
> 
> I’m still working on “Let Me Fly” a different AU with a core relationship of Gale/Katniss/Peeta with RoseFyre. That fic currently has 15 chapters published (and one side story) and has an additional 15 chapters written (and one side story) with at least 28 more to be written (and one side story). Rose and I have also started on a Modern AU called "Floriography" which should be coming out soon. I’m also going to be starting on an original novel that I’ve had kicking around for a while. I’m in the world building and character creation phase, there’s a very basic outline, but that needs to get fleshed out. The plan there is to work on the novel during regular NaNoWriMo in November. So FanficAllergy’s going to be a busy author for a while.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. 
> 
> Please take a moment to leave a review!


End file.
